* 



'oeoeiro Pahn 



"6 d 



JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



BY 



PEOFESSOE AND IES. LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



And whenever the way seemed long, 

Or his heart began to fail, 
She would sing a more wonderful song, 

Or tell a more marvellous tale. 

Longfellow. 



BOSTON: 
TICKNOR AND FIELDS. 
1868. 



F 2513 
.A 2,k2 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by 
TICKNOR AND FIELDS, 
the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 

GIFT 

«T*TE or 
S VICTOR 8. CLARK 
_ SEPT. 8, 1846 
™ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



second edition- 



University Press: Welch, Bigelow, & Co., 
Cambridge. 



TO 

MR. NATHANIEL THAYER, 

THE FRIEND WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE TO GIVE THIS JOURNEY 
THE CHARACTER OF A SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION, 

2TJie present Uolume 

IS GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. 



PREFACE. 



In the winter of 1865 it became necessary for me, on 
account of some disturbance of my health, to seek a change 
of scene and climate, with rest from work. Europe was 
proposed ; but though there is much enjoyment for a 
naturalist in contact with the active scientific life of 
the Old World, there is little intellectual rest. Toward 
Brazil I was drawn by a lifelong desire. After the death 
of Spix, when a student of twenty years of age, I had 
been employed by Martius to describe the fishes they 
had brought back with them from their celebrated Bra- 
zilian journey. From that time, the wish to study this 
fauna in the regions where it belongs had been an 
ever-recurring thought with me ; a scheme deferred for 
want of opportunity, but never quite forgotten. The fact 
that the Emperor of Brazil was deeply interested in all 
scientific undertakings, and had expressed a warm sym- 
pathy with my efforts to establish a great zoological 
museum in this country, aiding me even by sending 
collections made expressly under his order for the pur- 
pose, was an additional incentive. I knew that the head 
of the government would give me every facility for my 
investigations. Nevertheless, tempting as was the pros- 



vi 



PREFACE. 



pect of a visit to Brazil, as a mere vacation it had little 
charm for me. Single-handed, I could make slight use 
of the opportunities I should have ; and though the ex- 
cursion might be a pleasant one for myself, it would 
have no important result for science. I could not forget 
that, had I only the necessary means, I might make col- 
lections on this journey which, whenever our building 
could be so enlarged as to give room for their exhi- 
bition, would place the Museum in Cambridge on a level 
with the first institutions of the kind. But for this a 
working force would be needed, and I saw no possibil- 
ity of providing for such an undertaking. While I was 
brooding over these thoughts I chanced to meet Mr. Na- 
thaniel Thayer, whom I have ever found a generous friend 
to science. The idea of appealing to him for a scheme 
of this magnitude had not, however, occurred to me ; 
but he introduced the subject, and, after expressing his 
interest in my proposed journey, added, " You wish, of 
course, to give it a scientific character ; take six assist- 
ants with you, and I will be responsible for all their 
expenses, personal and scientific." It was so simply said, 
and seemed to me so great a boon, that at first I hardly 
believed I had heard him rightly. In the end, I had 
cause to see in how large and liberal a sense he proffered 
his support to the expedition, which, as is usual in such 
cases, proved longer and more costly than Was at first 
anticipated. Not only did he provide most liberally for 
assistants, but, until the last specimen was stored in the 
Museum, he continued to advance whatever sums were 



PREFACE. 



vii 



needed, always desiring me to inform him should any 
additional expenses occur on closing up the affairs of the 
expedition. It seems to me that the good arising from 
the knowledge of such facts justifies me in speaking here 
of these generous deeds, accomplished so unostentatiously 
that they might otherwise pass unnoticed. 

All obstacles thus removed from my path, I made my 
preparations for departure as rapidly as possible. The 
assistants I selected to accompany me were Mr. James 
Burkhardt as artist, Mr. John G. Anthony as conchologist, 
Mr. Frederick C. Hartt and Mr. Orestes St. John as geolo- 
gists, Mr. John A. Allen as ornithologist, and Mr. George 
Sceva as preparator. Beside these, my party was enlarged 
by several volunteers, to whom I was indebted for assist- 
ance as untiring and efficient as if they had been en- 
gaged for the purpose. These were Mr. Newton Dexter, 
Mr. William James, Mr. Edward Copeland, Mr. Thomas 
Ward, Mr. Walter Hunnewell, and Mr. S. Y. E. Thayer. 
I should not omit to mention my brother-in-law, Mr. 
Thomas G. Cary, as one of my aids ; for, though not nom- 
inally connected with the expedition, he made collections 
for me at Monte Video, Buenos Ayres, and other places. 
I was also joined by my friends Dr. and Mrs. Cotting. 
Dr. Cotting, like myself, was in need of a vacation, and 
it was his intention to remain with us for as long a 
time as he could spare from his professional practice. 
But the climate proved unfavorable to his health, and 
after passing a couple of months in Rio, and sharing 
with us all our excursions in that neighborhood, he 



viii 



PREFACE. 



sailed with Mrs. Cotting for Europe, where they passed 
the summer. His presence with us during that time 
was most fortunate, for it so happened that the only- 
serious eases of illness we had among us occurred before 
he left, and his medical advice and care were of great 
service. I lost the assistance of Mr. Anthony, and Mr. 
Allen also, early in the expedition ; their health, always 
delicate, obliging them to leave for home. With these 
exceptions, our working force remained intact, and I am 
happy to state that every member of the party returned 
in safety to the United States.* 

No sooner was the Brazilian Expedition known to the 
public, than I received a letter from Mr. Allen McLane, 
President of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, offer- 
ing to me and my whole party the hospitality of their 
magnificent ship the Colorado, then just sailing from 
New York for the Pacific coast. She was going almost 
empty of passengers, being bound by the way of Cape 
Horn for San Francisco. We left New York on board 
this beautiful vessel, on the 1st of April, 1865. The 
record of our delightful voyage to Rio de Janeiro will 

* There is but one sad record I have to make connected with this journey. 
My friend and companion of many years, Mr. Burkhardt, died about ten 
months after his return, of a disease which, though not contracted in Brazil, 
since it was of some years' standing, was no doubt aggravated by the hot 
climate. His great desire to accompany me led him, against my advice, 
to undertake a journey which, in his case, was a dangerous one. He suffered 
very much during our stay on the Amazons, but I could not persuade him to 
leave his work; and in the following pages it will be seen that his industry 
was unflagging. 



PEEFACE. 



ix 



be found in the narrative ; but I wish here publicly to 
acknowledge my obligation to Mr. McLane for his gener- 
osity to the expedition. Besides the sympathy accorded 
me by private individuals, I have to thank the Hon. Gideon 
Welles, Secretary of the Navy, for a general order, received 
on the eve of my departure, desiring the officers of the 
United States Navy, wherever I should fall in with them, 
to afford me such assistance in my scientific researches 
as would not interfere with the regular service ; and 1 
learned at Rio that Mr. Seward had warmly recommended 
the expedition to General Webb, at that time United 
States Minister to Brazil. Finally, I would express my 
thanks also to Messrs. Garrison and Allen for the free 
passage offered to myself and my companions for our 
return, on board the line of steamers established be- 
tween New York and Bio de Janeiro during our stay in 
Brazil. 

It will be seen hereafter what facilities were granted 
me throughout this journey by the Brazilians themselves, 
and that the undertaking, so warmly speeded on its way, 
was welcomed no less cordially in the country to which 
it was bound. 

One word as to the manner in which this volume has 
grown into its present shape, for it has been rather the 
natural growth of circumstances than the result of any 
preconceived design. Partly for the entertainment of her 
friends, partly with the idea that I might make some use 
of it in knitting together the scientific reports of my 
journey by a thread of narrative, Mrs. Agassiz began this 



X 



PREFACE. 



diary. I soon fell into the habit of giving her daily the 
more general results of my scientific observations, knowing 
that she would allow nothing to be lost which was worth 
preserving. In consequence of this mode of working, 
our separate contributions have become so closely inter- 
woven that we should hardly know how to disconnect 
them, and our common journal is therefore published, 
with the exception of a few unimportant changes, almost 
as it was originally written. In this volume I have at- 
tempted only to give such an account of my scientific 
work and its results as would explain to the public what 
were the aims of the expedition, and how far they have 
been accomplished. It is my hope to complete a work, 
already begun, on the Natural History, and especially on 
the Fishes of Brazil, in which will be recorded not only 
my investigations during the journey and those of my 
assistants in their independent excursions, but also the 
researches now regularly carried on in connection with 
the immense Brazilian collections stored in the Museum 
at Cambridge. This must, however, be the slow labor 
of many years, and can only be published very gradually. 
In the mean time I hope that this forerunner of the more 
special reports may serve to show that our year in Brazil, 
full as it was of enjoyment for all the party, was also rich 
in permanent results for science. 

L. AGASSIZ. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 

PAGI 

First Sunday at Sea. — Gulf Stream. — Gulf-Weed. — Lectures proposed. — 
First Lecture : On the Gulf Stream in the Gulf Stream. — Aquarium 
established on board. — Second Lecture — Rough Sea. — Peculiar Tint of 
Water. — Third Lecture: Laying out Work of Expedition in Brazil ; Dis- 
tribution of Fishes in Brazilian Rivers ; its Bearing on Origin of Species ; 
Collecting of Eggs. — Tropical Sunset. — Fourth Lecture: Plan of Geologi- 
cal Investigations with special reference to Glacial Phenomena in South 
America. — Flying-Fish. — Fifth Lecture: Glacial Phenomena, continued. 
— Second Sunday at Sea. — Rough Water. — Sixth Lecture : Embryo- 
logical Investigations as a Guide to sound Classification. — Seventh Lec- 
ture. — Moonlight Nights. — Trade- Winds. — Eighth Lecture: Importance 
of Precision in Localizing Specimens. — Southern Cross. — Ninth Lecture: 
Fresh-water Fishes of Brazil. — Easter Sunday. — First Sight of South 
American Shore. — Olinda. — Pernambuco. — Catamarans. — Tenth Lec- 
ture: Methods of Collecting. — Eleventh Lecture: Classification of Fishes 
as illustrated by Embryology. — Preparations for Arrival. — Twelfth Lec- 
ture: Practical Lesson in Embryology. — Closing Lecture: Transmu- 
tation Theory; Intellectual and Political Independence. — Resolutions and 
Speeches. — Singular Red Patches on the Surface of the Sea. . . 1-45 



CHAPTER II. 

RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. — JUIZ DE FORA. 

Arrival. — Aspect of Harbor and City. — Custom-House. — First Glimpse of 
Brazilian Life. — Negro Dance. — Effeot of Emancipation in United 
States upon Slavery in Brazil. — First Aspect of Rio de Janeiro on Land. 

— Picturesque Street Groups. — Eclipse of the Sun. — At Home in Rio. — 
Larangeiras. — Passeio Publico. — Excursion on the Dom Pedro Railroad. 

— Visit of the Emperor to the Colorado. — Cordiality of the Government 
to the Expedition. — Laboratory. — Botanical Garden. — Alley of Palms. — 
Excursion to the Corcovado. — Juiz de Fora Road. — Petropolis. — Trop- 
ical Vegetation. — Ride from Petropolis to Juiz de Fora. — Visit to Sen- 
hor Lage. — Excursion to the Forest of the Empress. — Visit to Mr. 
Halfeld. — Return to Rio. — News of the Great Northern Victories, and of 

the President's Assassination 46-79 



xii 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 

LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. — FAZENDA LIFE. 

Botafogo. — Insane Hospital. — Tijuca. — Erratic Drift. — Vegetation. — 
Birthday Dinner. — Arrangements for Parties to the Interior. — Public 
Lectures in Rio. — Procession of St. George. — Leave Rio on Excursion to 
the Fortaleza de Santa Anna. — Localities for Erratic Drift between Rio 
and Petropolis. — Departure from Juiz de Fora. — Arrival at the Fazenda. 
Ride in the Forest. — Eve of San Joao. — Cupim Nests. — Excursion to 
the Upper Fazenda. — Grand Hunt. — Picnic. — Coffee Plantation. — 
Return to Rio. — Mimic Snow-Fields. — Coffee Insect spinning its Nest. 

— Visit to the Fazenda of Commendador Breves. — Botanizing Excursion 
to Tijuca. — Preparations for leaving Rio. — Major Coutinho. — Collegio 
Dom Pedro Segundo. 80-125 

CHAPTER IV. 

VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA. 

On board the Cruzeiro do Sul. — Members of the Party. — Arrival at 
Bahia. — Day in the Country. — Return to the Steamer. — Conversation 
about Slavery in Brazil. — Negro Marriages. — Maceio. — Pernambuco. — 
Parahyba do Norte. — Ramble on Shore. — Ceara. — Difficult Landing. — 
Brazilian Baths. — Maranham. — Assai Palm. — Visit to Orphan Asylum.— 
Detained in Port. — Variety of Medusas. — Arrival of American Gunboat. 

— More Medusas. — Dinner on Shore. — Cordiality toward the Expedition. 

— Arrival at Para. — Kind Reception. — Environs of Para. — Luxuriant 
Growth. — Markets. — Indian Boats. — Agreeable Climate. — Excursion 
in the Harbor. — Curious Mushroom. — Success in collecting, with the 
assistance of our Host and other Friends. — Fishes of the Forests. — 
Public Expressions of Sympathy for the Expedition. — Generosity of the 
Amazonian Steamship Company. — Geological Character of the Shore 
from Rio to Para. — Erratic Drift. — Letter to the Emperor. . 126 - 151 

CHAPTER V. 

FROM PARA TO MAN AOS. 

First Sunday on the Amazons. — Geographical Question. — Convenient Ar- 
rangements of Steamer. — Vast Dimensions of the River. — Aspect of 
Shores. — Village of Breves. — Letter about Collections. — Vegetation. — 
Variety of Palms. — Settlement of Tajapuru. — Enormous Size of Leaves 
of the Miriti Palm. — Walk on Shore. — Indian Houses. — Courtesy of 
Indians. — Row in the Forest. — Town of Gurupa. — River Xingu. — 
Color of Water. — Town of Porto do Moz. — Flat-topped Hills of Almey- 
rim. — Beautiful Sunset. — Monte Ale'gre. — Character of Scenery and 
Soil. — Santarem. — Send off Party on the River Tapajoz. — Continue up 
the Amazons. — Pastoral Scenes on the Banks. — Town of Villa Bella. — 
Canoe Journey at Night. — Esperanca's Cottage. — Picturesque Scene at 
Night. — Success in Collecting. — Indian Life. — Making Farinha. — Dance 
in the Evening. — Howling Monkeys. — Religious Impressions of Indians. — 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



xiii 



Cottage of Maia. — His Interest in Educating his Children. — Return to 
Steamer. — Scientific Results of the Excursion 152 - 184 

CHAPTER VI. 

LIFE AT MANAOS. — VOYAGE FROM MANAOS TO TABATINGA. 

Arrival at Manaos. — Meeting of the Solimoens with the Rio Negro. — Do- 
mesticated at Manaos. — Return of Party from the Tapajoz. — Generosity of 
Government. — Walks. — Water- Carriers. — Indian School. — Leave Ma- 
naos. — Life on board the Steamer. — Barreira das Cudajas. — Coari. — 
Wooding. — Appearance of Banks. — Geological Constitution. — Forest. — 
Sumaumeira-Tree. — Arrow-Grass. — Red Drift Cliffs. — Sand-Beaches. — 
Indian Huts. — Turtle-Hunting. — Drying Fish. — Teffe. — Doubts about 
the Journey. — Unexpected Adviser. — Fonte Boa. — Geological Char- 
acter of Banks. — Lakes. — Flocks of Water Birds. — Tonantins. — Pic- 
turesque Grouping of Indians. — San Paolo. — Land-Slides. — Character 
of Scenery. — Scanty Population. — Animal Life. — Tabatinga. — Aspect 
of the Settlement. — Mosquitoes. — Leave one of the Party to make Col- 
lections. — On our Way down the River. — Party to the Rivers 19a and 
Hyutahy. — Aground in the Amazons. — Arrival at Teflfe*. . . 185 - 211 

CHAPTER VII. 

LIFE IN TEFEE. 

Aspect of Teffe". — Situation. — Description of Houses. — Fishing Excur- 
sion. — Astonishing Variety of Fishes. — Acara. — Scarcity of Laborers. 
Our Indoors Man. — Bruno. — Alexandrina. — Pleasant Walks. — Man~ 
dioca-shed in the Forest. — Indian Encampment on the Beach. — Excursion 
to Fishing Lodge on the Solimoens. — Amazonian Beaches. — Breeding- 
Places of Turtles, Fishes, etc. — Adroitness of Indians in finding them. — 
Description of a " Sitio." — Indian Clay-Eaters — Cuieira-Tree. — Fish 
Hunt. — Forest Lake. — Water Birds. — Success in Collecting. — Evening 
Scene in Sitio. — Alexandrina as Scientific Aid. — Fish Anecdote. — 
Relations between Fishes as shown by their Embryology. — Note upon 
the Marine Character of the Amazonian Fauna?. — Aoara. — News from 
the Parties in the Interior. — Return of Party from the lea. — Prepara- 
tions for Departure. — Note on General Result of Scientific Work in 
Teffe". — Waiting for the Steamer. — Sketch of Alexandrina. — Mocuim. 
— Thunder-Storm. — Repiquete. — Geological Observations. . . 212 - 250 

CHAPTER VIII. 

RETURN TO MANAOS. — AMAZONIAN PICNIC. 

Arrival at Manaos. — New Quarters. — The Ibicuhy. — News from Home. 
Visit to the Cascade. — Banheiras in the Forest. — Excursion to Lake 
Hyanuary. — Character and Prospects of the Amazonian Valley. — Recep- 
tion at the Lake. — Description of Sitio. — Successful Fishing. — Indian 
Visitors. — Indian Ball. — Character of the Dancing. — Disturbed Night. — 



xiv 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Canoe Excursion. — Scenery. — Another Sitio. — Morals and Manners. — 
Talk with the Indian Women. — Life in the Forest. — Life in the Towns. 
Dinner-Party. — Toasts. — Evening Row on the Lake. — Night Scene. — 
Smoking among the Senhoras. — Return to Manaos. . . . 251 - 275 

CHAPTER IX. 

MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Photographic Establishment. — Indian Portraits. — Excursion to the Great 
Cascade. — Its Geological Formation. — Bathing Pool. — Parasitic Plants. 

— Return by the Igarape\ — Public Ball. — Seventy in Recruiting, and its 
Effects. — Collecting Parties. — Scenes of Indian Life. — Fete Champetre 
at the Casa dos Educandos. — Prison at Manaos. — Prison Discipline on 
the Amazons. — Extracts from Presidential Reports on this Subject. — 
Prison at Teffe\ — General Character of Brazilian Institutions. — Em- 
peror's Birthday. — Illuminations and Public Festivities. — Return of Col- 
lecting Parties. — Remarks on the Races. — Leave Manaos for Mauhes. 276 - 300 

CHAPTER X. 

EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Leave Manaos. — On board the Ibicuhy. — Navigation of the River Ra- 
mos. — Aspect of the Banks. — Arrival at Mauhes. — Situation of Mau- 
hes. — Tupinambaranas. — Character of Population. — Appearance of the 
Villages of Mauhes. — Bolivian Indians. — Guarana. — Excursion to Mu- 
caja-Tuba. — Mundurucu Indians. — Aspect of Village. — Church. — Dis- 
tribution of Presents. — Generosity of the Indians. — Their Indifference. — 
Visit to another Settlement. — Return to Mauhes. — Arrival of Munduru- 
cus in the Village. — Description of Tattooing. — Collection. — Boto. — 
Indian Superstitions. — Palm Collection. — Walk in the Forest. — Leave 
Mauhes. — Mundurucu Indian and his Wife. — Their Manners and Ap- 
pearance. — Indian Tradition. — Distinctions of Caste. . . . 301-321 

CHAPTER XI. 

RETURN TO MANAOS. — EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 

Christmas Eve at Manaos. — Ceremonies of the Indians. — Churches on the 
Amazons. — Leave Manaos for the Rio Negro. — Curious River Formation. 

— Aspect of the River. — Its Vegetation. — Scanty Population. — Village 
of Taua P^assu. — Padre of the Village. — Palms. — Village of Pedreira. — 
Indian Camp. — Making Palm-thatch. — Sickness and Want at Pedreira. 

— Row in the Forest. — Tropical Shower. — Geology of Pedreira. — Indian 
Recruits. — Collection of Palms. — Extracts from Mr. Agassiz's Notes on 
Vegetation. — Return to Manaos. — Desolation of the Rio Negro. — Its fu- 
ture Prospects. — Humboldt's Anticipations. — Wild Flowers. — Distribu- 
tion of Fishes in the Amazonian Waters. — How far due to Migration. — 
Hydrographic System. — Alternation between the Rise and Fall of the 
Southern and Northern Tributaries 322 - 850 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



XV 



CHAPTER XII. 

DOWN THE RIVER TO PARA\ — EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 

Farewell Visit to the Great Cascade at Manaos. — Change in its Aspect. — 
Arrival at Villa Bella. — Return to the House of the Fisherman Maia. — 
Excursion to the Lago Maximo. — Quantity of Game and Waterfowl. 

— Victoria regia. — Leave Villa Bella. — Arrive at Obydos. — Its Situation 
and Geology. — Santarem. — Visit to the Church. — Anecdote of Martius. 

— A Row overland. — Monte Alegre. — Picturesque Scenery. — Banheiras. 

— Excursion into the Country. — Leave Monte Ale'gre. — Anecdote of In- 
dians. — Almeyrim. — New Geological Facts. — Porto do Moz. — Collec- 
tions. — Gurupa. — Tajapuni. — Arrive at Para. — Religious Procession. 

— Excursion to Marajo. — Sour^s. — Jesuit Missions. — Geology of Ma- 
rajo. — Buried Forest. — Vigia. — Igarape\ — Vegetation and Animal Life. 

— Geology. — Return to Para. — Photographing Plants. — Notes on the 
Vegetation of the Amazons. — Prevalence of Leprosy. . . . 351 - 396 

CHAPTER XIII. 

PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 

Drift about Rio de Janeiro. — Decomposition of underlying Rock. — Different 
Aspect of Glacial Phenomena in different Continents. — Fertility of the 
Drift. — Geological Observations of Messrs. Hartt and St. John. — Corre- 
spondence of Deposits along the Coast with those of Rio and those of the 
Valley of the Amazons. — Primitive Formation of the Valley. — First known 
Chapter of its History. — Cretaceous Fossil Fishes. — Former Extent 
of the South-American Coast. — Cretaceous Fossils from the Rio Purus. 

— Comparison between North and South America. — Geological Forma- 
tions along the Banks of the Amazons. — Fossil Leaves. — Clays and 
Sandstones. — Hills of Almeyrim. — Monte Ale'gre. — Situation and 
Scenery. — Serra of Erere\ — Comparison with Swiss Scenery. — Boulders 
of Erere\ — Ancient Thickness of Amazonian Deposits. — Difference be- 
tween Drift of the Amazons and that of Rio. — Inferences drawn from the 
present Condition of the Deposits. — Immense Extent of Sandstone For- 
mation. — Nature and Origin of these Deposits. — Referred to the Ice- 
Period. — Absence of Glacial Marks. — Glacial Evidence of another Kind. 
— Changes in the Outline of the South-American Coast. — Soure\ — 
Igarape Grande. — Vigia. — Bay of Braganza. — Anticipation. . 397 - 441 

CHAPTER XIV. 

CEARA. 

Leaving Para. — Farewell to the Amazons. — Ease of Travelling on the 
Amazons. — Rough Passage. — Arrival at Ceara. — Difficulty of Landing. 

— Aspect of the Town. — Rainy Season. — Consequent Sickliness. — Our 
Purpose in stopping at Ceara. — Report of Dr. Felice about Moraines. — 
Preparations for Journey into the Interior. — Diiriculties and Delays in 
getting off. — On the Way. — Night at Arancho. — Bad Roads. — Car- 



xvi 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



nauba "Palm. — Arrival at Monguba. — Kind Eeception by Senhor Frank- 
lin de Lima. — Geology of the Eegion. — Evening Games and Amusements. 

— Pacatuba. — Traces of ancient Glaciers. — Serra of Aratanha. — Climb 
up the Serra. — Hospitality of Senhor da Costa. — Picturesque Views. — 
The Sertao. — Drought and Eains. — Epidemics. — Eeturn to Monguba.— 
Detained by extraordinary Eains. — Eeturn to Ceara. — Overflowed Eoads. 

— Difficulty of fording. — Arrival at Ceara. — Liberality of the President 

of the Province toward the Expedition 442-465 

CHAPTER XV. 

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF RIO. — ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 

Voyage from Ceara. — Freshets at Pernambuco. — Arrival at Eio. — Collec- 
tions. — Vegetation about Eio as compared with that on the Amazons. — 
Misericordia Hospital. — Charities connected with it. — Almsgiving in 
Brazil. — Insane Asylum. — Military School. — The Mint. — Academy of 
Fine Arts. — Heroism of a Negro. — Primary School for Girls. — Neglected 
Education of Women. — Blind Asylum. — Lectures. — Character of a Bra- 
zilian Audience. — Organ Mountains. — Walk up the Serra. — Theresopolis. 

— Visit to the St. Louis Fazenda. — Climate of Theresopolis. — Descent of 

the Serra. — Geology of the Organ Mountains. — The Last Word. 466-494 



CHAPTER XVI. 

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 

Religion and Clergy. — Education. — Law, Medical, and Scientific Schools. 

— High and Common Schools. — Public Library and Museum in Bio de 
Janeiro. — Historical and Geographical Institute. — Social and Domestic 
Eelations. — Public Functionaries. — Agriculture. — Zones of Vegetation. 

— Coffee. — Cotton. — Timber and other Products of the Amazons. — 
Cattle. — Territorial Subdivision of the Great Valley. — Emigration. — 
Foreigners. — Paraguayan War. 495 - 517 



APPENDIX. 



I. The Gulf Stream 519 

n. Flying-Fishes 522 

III. Eesolutions passed on board the Colorado 525 

IV. Dom Pedro Segundo Eailroad 627 

V. Permanence of Characteristics in different Human Species . . . 529 

VI. Sketch of Separate Journeys undertaken by different Members of the 

Expedition 533 



LIST OF WOODCUTS. 



Cocoeiro Palm fbontispiecw 

A species of Attalea common in the Serra d'Estrella. It bears two or 
three large bunches of olive-like berries, hanging immediately below the 
crown of leaves. The upper part of the stem is often overgrown with 
parasites, as in the specimen represented here. 

From a photograph by G. Leuzinger. 

Page 

Tree entwined by Sipos 54 

There are a great many parasites, the stem and roots of which are attached 
to larger trees; this woodcut represents one of those strange "tree-killers," 
as they are called by the natives, belonging to the family of the Fig-trees, 
which, beginning their growth among the upper branches of trees, gradu- 
ally descend to the ground, throw out branches around the stem they 
attack, and in the end kill it in their embrace. On the right are Lianas, 
from which hang parasitic flowers. 

From a photograph by G. Leuzinger. 



Side View op the Alley of Palms 60 

Part of the Botanical Garden in Rio de Janeiro. In the foreground a 
Pandanus covered with fruits. The Palms standing in pairs in the great 
alley are commonly called Palma Eeal. Their botanical name is Oreo- 
doxa oleracea. The peak of Corcovado forms the background. 

From a photograph by Messrs. Stahl & Wahnschaffe. 

Vista down the Alley of Palms 61 

The objects are the same as in the preceding woodcut, only seen at right 
angles, to afford a view down the alley. 

From a photograph by Messrs. Stahl & Wahnschaffe. 



Botafogo Bay 81 

The great southeastern bay in the harbor of Rio de Janeiro. The highest 
peak in the centre is the Corcovado, at the foot of which stand the Insane 
Asylum and the Military School. On the left are the Gavia and the Sugar- 
Loaf ; on the right, Tijuca. A beach runs all round the bay. 

From a photograph by G. Leuzinger. 

b 



xviii 



LIST OF WOODCUTS. 



Mina Negress 83 

From a photograph by Messrs. Stahl & Wahnsohaffe. 

Mina Negress and Child ....... 84 

From a photograph by Messrs. Stahl & Wahnschaffe. 

Fallen Trunk overgrown by Parasites .... 91 



A comparison with the woodcut facing p. 64 will show how parasites grow- 
ing upon living trees differ from those springing from dead trunks. 
From a photograph by G. Leuzinger. 

Fazenda de Santa Anna, in Minas Geraes . . . 103 
The level grounds in front of the buildings are used for drying the coffee. 
From a photograph by Senhor Machado. 



Esperanca's Cottage 179 

From a water-colored painting by Mr. J. Burkhardt. 

Veranda and Dintng-Room at Tefff, .... 214 
From a drawing by Mr. J. Burkhardt. 

Head of Alexandrina 245 

Extraordinary as the head of hair of this girl may seem, it is in no way 
exaggerated ; it stood six inches beyond the shoulders each way. 

From a sketch by Mr. Wm. James. 

Dlnlng-Room at Hyanuary 258 



The palm on the left is a Pupunha ( Guilielma speciosa) ; the large-leaved 
trees back of the building are Bananas, and the Palm on the right a 
Javari (Astrocaryum Javari). 

From a water-colored painting by Mr. J. Burkhardt. 



Mauhes River 304 

The Palm in the foreground is a Mucaja (Acrocomia lasiospatha) ; near 
the fence stand Banana-trees, and in the distance on the right a Tucuma 
Palm (Astrocaryum Tucuma). 

From a water-colored painting by Mr. J. Burkhardt. 



Mundtjrucu Indian; male ....... 313 

From a photograph by Dr. Gustavo, of Manaos. 

AIundurtjcu Indian; female 314 

Also from a photograph by Dr. Gustavo, of Manaos. 



LIST OF WOODCUTS. 



XIX 



Fan Baccaba 



335 



This Palm, called (Enocarpus distychius by botanists, is remarkable for the 
arrangement of its leaves, which are placed opposite to each other on two 
sides of the trunk, and higher and higher alternately, so that, seen from 
one side, the two rows of leaves are equally visible, and have the appear- 
ance of a wide fan ; seen in profile, they look like a narrow plume. 



This colossal tree is known to botanists under the name of Eriodendrum 
Sumauma, and may be seen everywhere in the basin of the Amazons. 
From a photograph presented by Senhor Pimenta Bueno. 

Garafoa, among the Organ Mountains 486 

This peak is called the Finger by the English residents of Bio. The Bra- 
zilians liken it to a bottle. 

From a photograph by G. Leuzinger. 

Organ Mountains 490 

The loose boulder alluded to in the text stands on the fourth peak from the 



From a drawing by Mr.. J. Burkhardt. 



SUMATJMEIRA 



391 



left. 



From a photograph by G. Leuzinger. 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTER I. 

VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 

First Sunday at Sea. — Gulf Stream. — Gulf-Weed. — Lectures pro- 
posed. — First Lecture: " On the Gulf Stream in the Gulf Stream." 

— Aquarium established on board. — Second Lecture. — Rough Sea. 

— Peculiar Tint of Water. — Third Lecture : Laying out Work of 
Expedition in Brazil ; Distribution of Fishes in Brazilian Rivers; its 
Bearing on Origin of Species; Collecting of Eggs. — Tropical Sun- 
set. — Fourth Lecture : Plan of Geological Investigations with spe- 
cial reference to Glacial Phenomena in South America. — Flying- 
Fish. — Fifth Lecture: Glacial Phenomena, continued. — Second Sun- 
day at Sea. — Rough Water. — Sixth Lecture: Embryological Inves- 
tigations as a Guide to sound Classification. — Seventh Lecture. — 
Moonlight Nights. — Trade- Winds. — Eighth Lecture: Importance of 
Precision in Localizing Specimens. — Southern Cross. — Ninth Lec- 
ture : Fresh- water Fishes of Brazil. — Easter Sunday. — First Sight 
of South American Shore. — Olinda. — Pernambuco. — Catamarans. — 
Tenth Lecture: Methods of Collecting. — Eleventh Lecture: Clas- 
sification of Fishes, as illustrated by Embryology. — Preparations 
for Arrival. — Twelfth Lecture : Practical Lesson in Embryology 

— Closing Lecture : Transmutation Theory ; Intellectual and Po- 
litical Independence. — Resolutions and Speeches. — Singular Red 
Patches on the Surface of the Sea. 

April 2d, 1865. — Our first Sunday at sea. The weather 
is delicious, the ship as steady as anything on the water 
can be, and even the most forlorn of our party have little 
excuse for sea-sickness. We have had service from Bishop 
Potter this morning, and since then we have been on deck 
reading, walking, watching a singular cloud, which the 
captain says is a cloud of smoke, in the direction of Pe- 
tersburg. We think it may be the smoke of a great deci- 
1 



2 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



sive engagement going on while we sail peacefully along. 
What it means, or how the battle ends, if battle it be, we 
shall not know for two months perhaps.* Mr. Agassiz is 
busy to-day in taking notes, at regular intervals, of the 
temperature of the water, as we approach the Gulf Stream. 
To-night we cut it at right angles, and he will remain on 
deck to continue his observations. 

April 3d. — The Professor sat up last night as he in- 
tended, and found his watch, which was shared by one or 
two of his young assistants, very interesting. We crossed 
the Gulf Stream opposite Cape Hatteras, at a latitude where 
it is comparatively narrow, some sixty miles only in breadth. 
Entering it at about six o'clock, we passed out of it a 
little after midnight. The western boundary of the warm 
waters stretching along the coast had a temperature of 
about 57°. Immediately after entering it, the temperature 
began to rise gradually, the maximum being about 74°, 
falling occasionally, however, when we passed through a 
cold streak, to 68°. These cold streaks in the Gulf Stream, 
which reach to a considerable depth, the warm and cold 
waters descending together in immediate contact for at 
least a hundred fathoms, are attributed by Dr. Bache to 
the fact that the Gulf Stream is not stationary. It sways 
as a whole sometimes a little toward the shore, sometimes 
a little away from it, and, in consequence of this, the 
colder water from the coast creeps in, forming these verti- 
cal layers in its midst. The eastern boundary is warmer 

* On the 17th of May, nearly a month after our arrival in Rio, this cloud 
was interpreted to us. It was, indeed, charged with the issues of life and death, 
for it was on this day and the following that the final assaults on Petersburg 
were made, and the cloud which marred an otherwise stainless sky, as we were 
passing along the shores of Virginia, was, no doubt, the mass of smoke gath- 
ered above the opposing lines of the two armies. 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 3 

than the western one, for the latter is chilled by the Arctic 
currents, which form a band of cold water all along the 
Atlantic shore. Their influence is felt nearly to the lati- 
tude of Florida. On coining out of the Gulf Stream the 
temperature of the water was 68°, and so it continued for 
an hour longer, after which Mr. Agassiz ceased his obser- 
vations. To-day some of the gulf-weed was gathered by a 
sailor, and we found it crowded with life. Hydroids, in 
numbers, had their home upon it ; the delicate branching 
plumularia and a pretty campanularia, very like some of 
our New England species ; beside these, bryozoa, tiny com- 
pound mollusks, crusted its stem, and barnacles were abun- 
dant upon it. These are all the wonders that the deep has 
yielded us to-day, though the pretty Portuguese men-of-war 
go floating by the vessel, out of reach thus far. Such are 
the events of our life : we eat and drink and sleep, read, 
study Portuguese, and write up our journals. 

April 4:th. — It has occurred to Mr. Agassiz, as a means 
of preparing the young men who accompany him for the 
work before them, to give a course of lectures on ship- 
board. Some preparation of the kind is the more necessary, 
since much of the work must be done independently of 
him, as it will be impossible for so large a party to travel 
together ; and the instructions needed will be more easily 
given in a daily lecture to all, than in separate conversa- 
tions with each one singly. The idea finds general favor. 
The large saloon makes an excellent lecture-room ; a couple 
of leaves from the dining-table with a black oil-cloth 
stretched across them serve as a blackboard. The audi- 
ence consists, not only of our own company, but includes 
the few ladies who are on board, Mr. Bradbury, the captain 
of our steamer, Bishop Potter, some of the ship's officers. 



4 



A JOURNEY m BRAZIL. 



and a few additional passengers, all of whom seem to think 
the lecture a pleasant break in the monotony of a sea voy- 
age. To-day the subject was naturally suggested by the sea- 
weeds of the Gulf Stream, so recently caught and so crowded 
with life, — "A lecture on the G-ulf Stream in the Gulf 
Stream," as one of the listeners suggests. It was opened, 
however, by a few words on the exceptional character of the 
position of this scientific commission on board the Colorado. 

" Fifty years ago, when naturalists carried their investiga- 
tions to distant lands, either government was obliged to pro- 
vide an expensive outfit for them, or, if they had no such 
patronage, scanty opportunities grudgingly given might be 
granted them on ordinary conveyances. Even if such ac- 
commodation were allowed them, their presence was looked 
upon as a nuisance : no general interest was felt in their 
objects ; it was much if they were permitted, on board some 
vessel, to have their bucket of specimens in a corner, which 
any sailor might kick over, unreproved, if it chanced to stand 
in his way. This ship, and the spirit prevailing in her com- 
mand, opens to me a vista such as I never dreamed of till I 
stood upon her deck. Here, in place of the meagre chances 
I remember in old times, the facilities could hardly be greater 
if the ship had been built as a scientific laboratory. If any 
such occasion has ever been known before, if any naturalist 
has ever been treated with such consideration, and found 
such intelligent appreciation of his highest aims, on board 
a merchant-ship fitted up for purposes of trade, I am not 
aware of it. I hope the first trip of the Colorado will be re- 
membered in the annals of science. I, at least, shall know 
whom to thank for an opportunity so unique. This voyage, 
and the circumstances connected with it, are, to me, the 
signs of a good time coming ; when men of different inter- 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 



5 



ests will help each other; when naturalists will be more 
liberal and sailors more cultivated, and natural science and 
navigation will work hand in hand. And now for my 
lecture, — my first lecture on ship-board. " 

The lecture was given, of course, specimen in hand, the 
various inhabitants of the branch of sea-weed giving their 
evidence in succession of their own structure and way of 
life. To these living illustrations were added drawings on 
the blackboard to show the transformations of the animals, 
their embryological history, &c* Since the lecture, Captain 
Bradbnry has fitted up a large tank as an aquarium, where 
any specimens taken during the voyage may be preserved 
and examined. Mr. Agassiz is perfectly happy, enjoying 
every hour of the voyage, as well he may, surrounded as 
he is with such considerate kindness. 

April 6th. — ■ Though I took notes, as usual, of the lecture 
yesterday, I had not energy enough to enter them in my 
journal. The subject was the Gulf Stream, — the stream 
itself this time, not the animals it carries along with it. 
Mr. Agassiz's late observations, though deeply interesting to 
himself, inasmuch as personal confirmation of facts already 
known is always satisfactory, have nothing novel now-a- 
days ; yet the history of the facts connected with the dis- 
covery of the Gulf Stream, and their gradual development, 
is always attractive, and especially so to Americans, on ac- 
count of its direct connection with scientific investigations 

* The species of Hydroids most numerous upon the gulf-weed have not yet 
been described, and would form a valuable addition to the Natural History of 
the Acalephs. For an account of the animals of this class inhabiting the Atlan- 
tic coast of North America, and especially the New England shores, I may refer 
to the third volume of my Contributions to the Natural History of the Unued 
States, and to the second number of the Illustrated Catalogue of the Museum 
of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge. — L. A. 



6 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



carried on under our government. Mr. Agassiz gave a slight 
sketch of this in opening his lecture. " It was Franklin 
who first systematically observed these facts, though they 
had been noticed long before by navigators. He recorded 
the temperature of the water as he left the American con- 
tinent for Europe, and found that it continued cold for 
a certain distance, then rose suddenly, and after a given 
time sank again to a lower temperature, though not so low 
as before. With the comprehensive grasp of mind charac- 
teristic of all his scientific results, he went at once beyond 
his facts. He inferred that the warm current, keeping its 
way so steadily through the broad Atlantic, and carrying 
tropical productions to the northern shores of Europe, must 
take its rise in tropical regions, must be heated by a tropical 
sun.* This was his inference : to work it out, to ascertain 
the origin and course of the Gulf Stream, has been, in a 
great degree, the task of the United States Coast Survey, 
under the direction of his descendant, Dr. Bache." f 

* " This stream," lie writes, " is probably generated by the great accumu- 
lation of water on the eastern coast of America, between the tropics, by the 
trade-winds which constantly blow there." These views, though vaguely 
hinted at by old Spanish navigators, were first distinctly set forth by Frank- 
lin, and, as is stated in a recent printed report of the Coast Survey Explo- 
rations, " they receive confirmation from every discovery which the advance of 
scientific research brings to aid in the solution of the great problem of oceanic 
circulation." 

t No one can read the account of the explorations undertaken by the 
Coast Survey in the Gulf Stream, and continued during a number of successive 
years, and the instructions received by the officers thus employed from the 
Superintendent, Dr. A. D. Bache, without feeling how comprehensive, keen, 
and persevering was the intellect which has long presided over this department 
of our public works. The result is a very thorough survey of the stream, es- 
pecially along the coast of our own continent, with sections giving the temper- 
ature to a great depth, the relations of the cold and warm streaks, the form of 
the ocean bottom, as well as various other details respecting the direction and 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 



7 



We are now fairly in the tropics. "The trades" blow 
heavily, and yesterday was a dreary day for those unused to 
the ocean ; the beautiful blue water, of a peculiar metallic 
tint, as remarkable in color, it seemed to me, as the water 
of the Lake of Geneva, did not console us for the heavy 
moral and physical depression of sea-sick mortals. To-day 
the world looks brighter ; there is a good deal of motion, 
but we are more accustomed to it. This morning the lec- 
ture had, for the first time, a direct bearing upon the work 
of the expedition. The subject was, " How to observe, 
and what are the objects of scientific explorations in mod- 
ern times." 

" My companions and myself have come together so sud- 
denly and so unexpectedly on our present errand, that we 
have had little time to organize our work. The laying out 
of a general scheme of operations is, therefore, the first and 
one of the most important points to be discussed between 
us. The time for great discoveries is passed. No student 
of nature goes out now expecting to find a new world, or 
looks in the heavens for any new theory of the solar system. 
The work of the naturalist, in our day, is to explore worlds 
the existence of which is already known ; to investigate, 
not to discover. The first explorers, in this modern sense, 
were Humboldt in the physical world, Cuvier in natural 
history, Lavoisier in chemistry, La Place in astronomy. 
They have been the pioneers in the kind of scientific work 
characteristic of our century. We who have chosen Brazil 
as our field must seek to make ourselves familiar with its 
physical features, its mountains and its rivers, its animals 
and plants. There is a change, however, to be introduced 

force of the current, the density and color of the water, and the animal and 
vegetable productions contained in it. (See Appendix No. I.) — L. A. 



8 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



in our mode of work, as compared with that of former 
investigators. "When less was known of animals and plants 
the discovery of new species was the great object. This 
has been carried too far, and is now almost the lowest kind 
of scientific work. The discovery of a new species as such 
does not change a feature in the science of natural history, 
any more than the discovery of a new asteroid changes 
the character of the problems to be investigated by astrono- 
mers. It is merely adding to the enumeration of objects. 
We should look rather for the fundamental relations among 
animals ; the number of species we may find is of impor- 
tance only ' so far as they explain the distribution and lim- 
itation of different genera and families, their relations to 
each other and to the physical conditions under which they 
live. Out of such investigations there looms up a deeper 
question for scientific men, the solution of which is to be 
the most important result of their work in coming genera- 
tions. The origin of life is the great question of the day. 
How did the organic world come to be as it is ? It must 
be our aim to throw some light on this subject by our pres- 
ent journey. How did Brazil come to be inhabited by the 
animals and plants now living there ? Who were its inhab- 
itants in past times ? What reason is there to believe that 
the present condition of things in this country is in any 
sense derived from the past ? The first step in this investi- 
gation must be to ascertain the geographical distribution 
of the present animals and plants. Suppose we first ex- 
amine the Rio San Francisco. The basin of this river is 
entirely isolated. Are its inhabitants, like its waters, com- 
pletely distinct from those of other basins ? Are its species 
peculiar to itself, and not repeated in any other river of 
the continent? Extraordinary as this result would seem, 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 



9 



I nevertheless expect to find it so. The next water-basin 
we shall have to examine will be that of the Amazons, 
which connects through the Rio Negro with the Orinoco. 
It has been frequently repeated that the same species of 
fish exist in the waters of the San Francisco and in those 
of Guiana and of the Amazons. At all events, our works 
on fishes constantly indicate Brazil and Guiana as the 
common home of many species ; but this observation has 
never been made with sufficient accuracy to merit confi- 
dence. Fifty years ago the exact locality from which 
any animal came seemed an unimportant fact in its sci- 
entific history, for the bearing of this question on that 
of origin was not then perceived. To say that any speci- 
men came from South America was quite enough ; to 
specify that it came from Brazil, from the Amazons, the 
San Francisco, or the La Plata, seemed a marvellous accu- 
racy in the observers. In the museum at Paris, for instance, 
there are many specimens entered as coming from New 
York or from Par k ; but all that is absolutely known about 
them is that they were shipped from those sea-ports. Nobody 
knows exactly where they were collected. So there are 
specimens entered as coming from the Rio San Francisco, 
but it is by no means sure that they came exclusively from 
that water-basin. All this kind of investigation is far too 
loose for our present object. Our work must be done with 
much more precision ; it must tell something positive of 
the geographical distribution of animals in Brazil. There- 
fore, my young friends who come with me on this expedi- 
tion, let us be careful that every specimen has a label, 
recording locality and date, so secured that it shall reach 
Cambridge safely. It would be still better to attach two 
labels to each specimen, so that, if any mischance happens 



10 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



to one, our record may not be lost. We must try not to 
mix the fishes of different rivers, even though they flow 
into each other, but to keep our collections perfectly dis- 
tinct. You will easily see the vast importance of thus 
ascertaining the limitation of species, and the bearing of 
the result on the great question of origin. 

" Something is already known. It is ascertained that 
the South American rivers possess some fishes peculiar to 
them. Were these fishes then created in these separate 
water-systems as they now exist, or have they been trans- 
* ferred thither from some other water-bed ? If not born 
there, how did they come there ? Is there, or has there 
ever been, any possible connection between these water-sys- 
tems ? Are their characteristic species repeated elsewhere ? 
Thus we narrow the boundaries of the investigation, and 
bring it, by successive approaches, nearer the ultimate 
question. But the first inquiry is, How far are species 
distinct all over the world, and what are their limits ? Till 
this is ascertained, all theories about their origin, their 
derivation from one another, their successive transforma- 
tion, their migration from given centres, and so on, are 
mere beating about the bush. I allude especially to the 
fresh-water fishes, in connection with this investigation, 
on account of the precision of their boundaries. Looking 
at the matter theoretically, without a positive investigation, 
I do not expect to find a single species of the Lower Amazons 
above Tabatinga.* I base this supposition upon my own ob- 

* This anticipation was more than confirmed by the result of the journey. It 
is true that Mr. Agassiz did not go beyond the Peruvian frontier, and therefore 
could not verify his prophecy in that region. But he found the localization of 
species in the Amazons circumscribed within much narrower limits than he ex- 
pected, the whole length of the great stream, as well as its tributaries, being 
broken up into numerous distinct faunae. There can be no doubt that what is 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 11 



servations respecting the distribution of species in the Euro- 
pean rivers. I have found that, while some species occur 
simultaneously in the many upper water-courses which com- 
bine to form the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Danube, most 
of them are not found in the lower course of these rivers ; 
that, again, certain species are found in two of these water- 
basins and do not occur in the third, or inhabit only one 
and are not to be met in the two others. The brook trout, 
for instance (Salmo Fario), is common to the upper course 
and the higher tributaries of all the three river-systems, 
but does not inhabit the main bed of their lower course. 
So it is, also, and in a more striking degree, with the Salm- 
ling QSalmo Salvelinus). The Huchen QSalmo Hucho) is 
only found in the Danube. But the distribution of the 
perch family in these rivers is, perhaps, the most remark- 
able. The Zingel {Aspro Zing el) and the Schraetzer (Aceri- 
na Schrcetzer) are only found in the Danube ; while Acerina 
cernua is found in the Danube as well as in the Rhine, 
but not in the Rhone ; and Aspro asper in the Danube as 
well as in the Rhone, but not in the Rhine. . The Sander 
(Lucioperca Sandra) is found in the Danube and the other 
large rivers of Eastern Europe, but occurs neither in the 
Rhine nor in the Rhone. The common perch (Perca flu- 
viatilis), on the contrary, is found both in the Rhine and 
Rhone, but not in the Danube, which, however, nourishes 
another species of true Perca, already described by Schaeffer 
as Perca vulgaris. Again, the pickerel {JEsox Lucius) is 
common to all these rivers, especially in their lower course, 
and so is also the cusk {Lota vulgaris). The special dis- 

true for nearly three thousand miles of its course is true also for the head-waters 
of the Amazons ; indeed, other investigators have already described some spe- 
cies from its higher tributaries differing entirely from those collected upon this 
expedition. 



12 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



tribution of the carp family would afford many other 
striking examples, but they are too numerous and too little 
known to be used as an illustration here. 

" This is among the most remarkable instances of what 
I would call the arbitrary character of geographical dis- 
tribution. Such facts cannot be explained by any theory 
of accidental dispersion, for the upper mountain rivulets, 
in which these great rivers take their rise, have no con- 
nection with each other ; nor can any local circumstance 
explain the presence of some species in all the three basins, 
while others appear only in one, or perhaps in two, and are 
absent from the third, or the fact that certain species 
inhabiting the head-waters of these streams are never found 
in their lower course when the descent would seem so 
natural and so easy. In the absence of any positive ex- 
planation, we are left to assume that the distribution of ani- 
mal life has primary laws as definite and precise as those 
which govern anything else in the system of the universe. 

"It is for the sake of investigations of this kind that 
I wish our party to divide, in order that we may cover as 
wide a ground as possible, and compare a greater number 
of the water-basins of Brazil. I wish the same to be done, 
as far as may be, for all the classes of Vertebrates, as 
well as for Mollusks, Articulates, and Radiates. As we 
have no special botanist in the party, we must be content 
to make a methodical collection of the most characteristic 
families of trees, such as the palms and tree ferns. A col- 
lection of the stems of these trees would be especially 
important as a guide to the identification of fossil woods. 
Much more is known of the geographical distribution of 
plants than of animals, however, and there is, therefore, 
less to be done that is new in that direction. 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 13 



" Our next aim, and with the same object, namely, its 
bearing upon the question of origin, will be the study of the 
young, the collecting of eggs and embryos. This is the 
more important, since museums generally show only adult 
specimens. As far as I know, the Zoological Museum at 
Cambridge is the only one containing large collections of 
embryological specimens from all the classes of the ani- 
mal kingdom. One significant fact, however, is already 
known. In their earliest stages of growth all animals of 
the same class are much more alike than in their adult 
condition, and sometimes so nearly alike as hardly to be 
distinguished. Indeed, there is an early period when the 
resemblances greatly outweigh the differences. How far 
the representatives of different classes resemble one another 
remains to be ascertained with precision. There are two 
possible interpretations of these facts. One is that animals 
so nearly identical in the beginning must have been origi- 
nally derived from one germ, and are but modifications or 
transmutations, under various physical conditions, of this 
primitive unit. The other interpretation, founded on the 
same facts, is, that since, notwithstanding this material iden- 
tity in the beginning, no germ ever grows to be different 
from its parent, or diverges from the pattern imposed upon 
it at its birth, therefore some other cause besides a material 
one must control its development ; and if this be so, we have 
to seek an explanation of the differences between animals 
outside of physical influences. Thus far both these views 
rest chiefly upon personal convictions and opinions. The 
true solution of the problem must be sought in the study 
of the development of the animals themselves, and embry- 
ology is still in its infancy ; for, though a very complete 
study of the embryology of a few animals has been made, 



14 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



yet these investigations include so small a number of repre- 
sentatives from the different classes of the animal kingdom 
that they do not yet give a basis for broad generalizations. 
Very little is known of the earlier stages in the formation 
of hosts of insects whose later metamorphoses, including 
the change of the already advanced larva, first to the con- 
dition of a chrysalis and then to that of a perfect insect, 
have been carefully traced. It remains to be ascertained 
to what extent the caterpillars of different kinds of butter- 
flies, for instance, resemble one another during the time of 
their formation in the egg. An immense field of observa- 
tion is open in this order alone. 

" I have, myself, examined over one hundred species 
of bird embryos, now put up in the museum of Cambridge, 
and found that, at a certain age, they all have bills, wings, 
legs, feet, &c, &c. exactly alike. The young robin and 
the young crow are web-footed, as well as the duck. It is 
only later that the fingers of the foot become distinct. 
How very interesting it will be to continue this investiga- 
tion among the tropical birds ! — to see whether, for instance, 
the toucan, with its gigantic bill, has, at a certain age, a 
bill like that of all other birds ; whether the spoonbill ibis 
has, at the same age, nothing characteristic in the shape 
of its bill. No living naturalist could now tell you one 
word about all this ; neither could he give you any infor- 
mation about corresponding facts in the growth of the 
fishes, reptiles, or quadrupeds of Brazil, not one of the 
young of these animals having ever been compared with 
the adult. In these lectures I only aim at showing you 
what an extensive and interesting field of investigation 
opens before us ; if we succeed in cultivating even a few 
corners of it we shall be fortunate." 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 15 

In the evening, which is always the most enjoyable part 
of our day, we sat on the guards and watched the first tropi- 
cal sunset we had yet seen. The sun went down in purple 
and gold, and, after its departure, sent back a glow that 
crimsoned the clouds almost to the zenith, dying off to 
paler rose tints on the edges, while heavy masses of gray 
vapor, just beginning to be silvered by the moon, swept 
up from the south. 

April 7th. — To-day the lecture was upon the physical 
features of South America, something with reference to 
the geological and geographical work in which Mr. Agassiz 
hopes to have efficient aid from his younger assistants. 
So much of the lecture consisted of explanations given 
upon geological maps that it is difficult to record it. Its 
principal object, however, was to show in what direction 
they should work in order to give greater precision to the 
general information already secured respecting the forma- 
tion of the continent. " The basin of the Amazons, for 
instance, is a level plain. The whole of it is covered 
with loose materials. We must watch carefully the char- 
acter of these loose materials, and try to track them to 
their origin. As there are very characteristic rocks in 
various parts of this plain, we shall have a clew to the 
nature of at least some portion of these materials. My 
own previous studies have given me a special interest in 
certain questions connected with these facts. What power 
has ground up these loose materials ? Are they the result 
of disintegration of the rock by ordinary atmospheric 
agents, or are they caused by the action of water, or by 
that of glaciers ? Was there ever a time when large masses 
of ice descended far lower than the present snow line of 
the Andes, and, moving over the low lands, ground these 



16 



A JOURNEY IN BEAZIL. 



materials to powder ? We know that such an agency has 
been at work on the northern half of this hemisphere. We 
have now to look for its traces on the southern half, where 
no such investigations have ever been made within its warm 
latitudes ; though to Darwin science is already indebted for 
much valuable information concerning the glacial phenomena 
of the temperate and colder portions of the South American 
continent. We should examine the loose materials in every 
river we ascend, and see what relation they bear to the dry 
land above. The color of the water in connection with the 
nature of the banks will tell us something. The waters of 
the Rio Branco, for instance, are said to be milky white ; 
those of the Rio Negro, black. In the latter case the color 
is probably owing to the decomposition of vegetation. I 
would advise each one of our parties to pass a large amount 
of water from any river or stream along which they travel 
through a filter, and to examine the deposit microscopically. 
They will thus ascertain the character of the detritus, 
whether from sand, or lime, or granite, or mere river mud 
formed by the decomposition of organic matter. Even the 
smaller streams and rivulets will have their peculiar char- 
acter. The Brazilian table-land rises to a broad ridge 
running from west to east, and determining the direction 
of the rivers. It is usually represented as a mountain 
range, but is in fact nothing but a high flat ridge serving as 
a water-shed, and cut transversely by deep fissures in which 
the rivers flow. These fissures are broad in their lower 
parts, but little is known of their upper range ; and whoever 
will examine their banks carefully will do an important 
work for science. Indeed, very little is known accurately 
of the geology of Brazil. On the geological maps almost 
the whole country is represented as consisting of granite. 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 17 



If this be correct, it is very inconsistent with what we know 
of the geological structure of other continents, where the 
stratified rocks are in much larger proportions." 

Upon this followed some account of the different kinds of 
valley formation and of terraces. " Do the old terraces 
above the rivers of South America correspond to the river 
terraces on any of our rivers, — those of the Connecticut, 
for instance, — showing that their waters had formerly a 
much greater depth and covered a much wider bottom ? 
There must of course have been a cause for this great 
accumulation of water in ancient periods. I account for it 
in the northern half of the hemisphere by the melting of 
vast masses of ice in the glacial period, causing immense 
freshets. There is no trustworthy account of the river 
terraces in Brazil. Bates, however, describes flat-topped 
hills between Santarem and Para in the narrow part of the 
valley, near Almeyrim, rising 800 feet above the present 
level of the Amazons. If this part of the valley were 
flooded in old times, banks might have been formed of which 
these hills are a remnant. But because such a theory 
might account for the facts it does not follow that the 
theory is true. Our work must be to study the facts, to 
see, among other things, of what these hills are built, 
whether of rock or of loose materials. No one has told 
us anything as yet of their geological constitution." * 

To-day we have seen numbers of flying-fish from the 
deck, and were astonished at the grace and beauty of their 
motion, which we had supposed to be rather a leap than 
actual flight. And flight indeed it is not, their pectoral 

* Mr. Agassiz afterward visited these hills himself, and an account of their 
structure and probable origin will be found in the chapter on the physical 
history of the Amazons. 

2 



18 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



fins acting as sails rather than wings, and carrying them 
along on the wind. They skim over the water in this way 
to a great distance. Captain Bradbury told us he had 
followed one with his glass and lost sight of it at a consider- 
able distance, without seeing it dip into the water again. 
Mr. Agassiz has great delight in watching them.* Having 
never before sailed in tropical seas, he enjoys every day some 
new pleasure. 

April 9th. — Yesterday Mr. Agassiz lectured upon the 
traces of glaciers as they exist in the northern hemisphere, 
and the signs of the same kind to be sought for in Brazil. 
After a sketch of what has been done in glacial investigation in 
Europe and the United States, showing the great extension of 
ice over these regions in ancient times, he continued as fol- 
lows : " When the polar half of both hemispheres was covered 
by such an ice shroud, the climate of the whole earth must 
have been different from what it is now. The limits of the 
ancient glaciers give us some estimate of this difference, 
though of course only an approximate one. A degree of 
temperature in the annual average of any given locality 
corresponds to a degree of latitude ; that is, a degree of 
temperature is lost for every degree of latitude as we travel 
northward, or gained for every degree of latitude as we travel 
southward. In our times, the line at which the average 
annual temperature is 32°, that is, at which glaciers may be 
formed, is in latitude 60° or thereabouts, the latitude of 
Greenland ; while the height at which they may originate in 
latitude 45° is about 6,000 feet. If it appear that the ancient 
southern limit of glaciers is in latitude 36°, we must admit 
that in those days the present climate of Greenland 
extended to that line. Such a change of climate with 

* See Appendix No. II. 



VOYAGE FKOM NEW YOEK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 19 



reference to latitude must have been attended by a corre- 
sponding change of climate with reference to altitude. 
Three degrees of temperature correspond to about one 
thousand feet of altitude. If, therefore, it is found that 
the ancient limit of glacier action descends on the Andes, 
for instance, to 7,000 feet above the level of the sea under 
the equator, the present line of perpetual snow being at 
15,000, it is safe to infer that in those days the climate 
was some 24° or thereabouts below its present temperature. 
That is, the temperature of the present snow line then pre- 
vailed at a height of 7,000 feet above the sea level, as the 
present average temperature of Greenland then prevailed in 
latitude 36°. I am as confident that we shall find these 
indications at about the limit I have pointed out as if I had 
already seen them. I would even venture to prophesy that 
the first moraines in the valley of the Maranon should be 
found where it bends eastward above Jaen."* 

Although the weather is fine, the motion of the ship 
continues to be so great that those of us who have not what 
are popularly called " sea-legs," have much ado to keep our 
balance. For my own part, I am beginning to feel a personal 
animosity to " the trades." I had imagined them to be soft, 
genial breezes wafting us gently southward ; instead of 
which they blow dead ahead all the time, and give us no 
rest night or day. And yet we are very unreasonable to 
grumble ; for never were greater comforts and conveniences 

* It proved in the sequel unnecessary to seek the glacial phenomena of 
tropical South America in its highest mountains. In Brazil the moraines are 
as distinct and as well preserved in some of the coast ranges on the Atlantic 
side, not more than twelve or fifteen hundred feet high, as in any glaciated 
localities known to geologists in more northern parts of the world. The 
snow line, even in those latitudes, then descended so low that masses of ice 
formed above its level actually forced their way down to the sea-coast. — L. A. 



20 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



provided for voyagers on the great deep than are to be 
found on this magnificent ship. The state-rooms large and 
commodious, parlor and dining-hall well ventilated, cool, and 
cheerful, the decks long and broad enough to give a chance 
for extensive " constitutionals " to everybody who can stand 
upright for two minutes together, the attendance punctual 
and admirable in every respect ; in short, nothing is left to 
be desired except a little more stable footing. 

April 10th. — A rough sea to-day, notwithstanding which 
we had our lecture as usual, though I must say, that, owing 
to the lurching of the ship, the lecturer pitched about more 
than was consistent with the dignity of science. Mr. Agas- 
siz returned to the subject of embryology, urging upon his 
assistants the importance of collecting materials for this 
object as a means of obtaining an insight into the deeper 
relations between animals. 

" Heretofore classification has been arbitrary, inasmuch 
as it has rested mainly upon the interpretation given to 
structural differences by various observers, who did not 
measure the character and value of these differences by 
any natural standard. I believe that we have a more 
certain guide in these matters than opinion or the indi- 
vidual estimate of any observer, however keen his insight 
into structural differences. The true principle of classifica- 
tion exists in Nature herself, and we have only to decipher 
it. If this conviction be correct, the next question is, 
How can we make this principle a practical one in our 
laboratories, an active stimulus in our investigations ? Is it 
susceptible of positive demonstration in material facts ? Is 
there any method to be adopted as a correct guide, if we 
set aside the idea of originating systems of classification 
of our own, and seek only to read that already written in 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YOKE TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 21 

nature ? I answer, Yes. The standard is to be found in 
the changes animals undergo from their first formation 
in the egg to their adult condition. 

" It would be impossible for me here and now to give 
you the details of this method of investigation, but 1 can 
tell you enough to illustrate my statement. Take a homely 
and very familiar example, that of the branch of Articulates. 
Naturalists divide this branch into three classes, — Insects, 
Crustacea, and Worms ; and most of them tell you that Worms 
are lowest, Crustacea next in rank, and that Insects stand 
highest, while others have placed the Crustacea at the head 
of the group. We may well ask why. Why does an insect 
stand above a crustacean, or, vice versa, why is a grass- 
hopper or a butterfly structurally superior to a lobster or a 
shrimp ? And indeed there must be a difference in opinion 
as to the respective standing of these groups so long as 
their classification is allowed to remain a purely arbitrary 
one, based only upon interpretation of anatomical details. 
One man thinks the structural features of Insects superior, 
and places them highest ; another thinks the structural 
features of the Crustacea highest, and places them at the 
head. In either case it is only a question of individual 
appreciation of the facts. But when we study the gradual 
development of the insect, and find that in its earliest stages 
it is worm-like, in its second, or chrysalis stage, it is crusta- 
cean-like, and only in its final completion it assumes the 
character of a perfect insect, we have a simple natural scale 
by which to estimate the comparative rank of these animals. 
Since we cannot suppose that there is a retrograde move- 
ment in the development of any animal, we must believe 
that the insect stands highest, and our classification in this 
instance is dictated by Nature herself. This is one of the 



22 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



most striking examples, but there are others quite as much 
so, though not as familiar. The frog, for instance, in its 
successive stages of development, illustrates the comparative 
standing of the orders composing the class to which it 
belongs. These orders are differently classified by various 
naturalists, according to their individual estimate of their 
structural features. But the growth of the frog, like that 
of the insects, gives us the true grade of the type.* There 
are not many groups in which this comparison has been 
carried out so fully as in the insects and frogs ; but where- 
ever it .has been tried it is found to be a perfectly sure test. 
Occasional glimpses of these facts, seen disconnectedly, have 
done much to confirm the development theory, so greatly 
in vogue at present, though under a somewhat new form. 
Those who sustain these views have seen that there was a 
gradation between animals, and have inferred that it was a 
material connection. But when we follow it in the growth 
of the animals themselves, and find that, close as it is, no 
animal ever misses its true development, or grows to be 
anything but what it was meant to be, we are forced to 

* In copying the journal from which these notes are taken, I have hesitated 
to burden the narrative with anatomical details. But for those who take 
an interest in such investigations it may be well to add here that the frog, 
when first hatched, is simply an oblong body, without any appendages, and 
tapering slightly towards its posterior end. In that condition it resembles the 
Cecilia. In its next stage, that of the tadpole, when the extremity has 
elongated into a tail, the gills are fairly developed, and it has one pair of 
imperfect legs, it resembles the Siren, with its rudimentary limbs. In its 
succeeding stages, when the same animal has two pairs of legs and a fin around 
the tail, it recalls the Proteus and Menobranchus. Finally the gills are 
suppressed, the animal breathes through lungs, but the tail still remains ; it 
then recalls Menopoma and the Salamanders. At last the tail shrinks and 
disappears, and the frog is complete. This gives us a standard by which 
the relative position of the leading groups of the class may safely be deter- 
mined. — L. A. 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 



23 



admit that the gradation which unquestionably unites all 
animals is an intellectual, not a material one. It exists in 
the Mind which made them. As the works of a human 
intellect are bound together by mental kinship, so are the 
thoughts of the Creator spiritually united. I think that 
considerations like these should be an inducement for us all 
to collect the young of as many animals as possible on this 
journey. In so doing we may change the fundamental 
principles of classification, and confer a lasting benefit on 
science. 

" It is very important to select the right animals for such 
investigations. I can conceive that a lifetime should be 
passed in embryological studies, and yet little be learned of 
the principles of classification. The embryology of the 
worm, for instance, would not give us the natural classifica- 
tion of the Articulates, because we should see only the first 
step of the series ; we should not reach the sequence of the 
development. It would be like reading over and over again 
the first chapter of a story. The embryology of the Insects, 
on the contrary, would give us the whole succession of a 
scale on the lowest level of which the Worms remain forever. 
So the embryology of the frog will give us the classification 
of the group to which it belongs, but the embryology of the 
Cecilia, the lowest order in the group, will give us only the 
initiatory steps. In the same way the naturalist who, in 
studying the embryology of the reptiles, should begin with 
their lowest representatives, the serpents, would make a 
great mistake. But take the alligator, so abundant in the 
regions to which we are going. An alligator's egg in the 
earliest condition of growth has never been opened by a 
naturalist. The young have been occasionally taken from 
the egg just before hatching, but absolutely nothing is known 



24 



A JOURNEY IK BRAZIL. 



of their first phases of development. A complete embryology 
of the alligator would give us not only the natural classifica- 
tion of reptiles as they exist now, but might teach us some- 
thing of their history from the time of their introduction 
upon earth to the present day. For embryology shows us 
not only the relations of existing animals to each other, but 
their relations to extinct types also. One prominent result 
of embryological studies has been to show that animals in 
the earlier stages of their growth resemble ancient represent- 
atives of the same type belonging to past geological ages 
The first reptiles were introduced in the carboniferous epoch, 
and they were very different from those now existing. 
They were not numerous at that period ; but later in the 
world's history there was a time, justly called the ' age of 
reptiles,' when the gigantic Saurians, Plesiosaurians, and 
Ichthyosaurians abounded. I believe, and my conviction is 
drawn from my previous embryological studies, that the 
changes of the alligator in the egg will give us the clew to 
the structural relations of the Reptiles from their first crea- 
tion to the present day, — will give us, in other words, their 
sequence in time as well as their sequence in growth. In 
the class of Reptiles, then, the most instructive group we 
can select with reference to the structural relations of the 
type as it now exists, and their history in past times, will be 
the alligator. We must therefore neglect no opportunity of 
collecting their eggs in as large numbers as possible. 

" There are other animals in Brazil, low in their class to 
be sure, but yet very important to study embryologically, on 
account of their relation to extinct types. These are the 
sloths and armadillos, — animals of insignificant size in our 
days, but anciently represented in gigantic proportions. 
The Megatherium, the Mylodon, the Megalonyx, were some 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 25 

of these immense Mammalia. I believe that the embryonic 
changes of the sloths and armadillos will explain the struc- 
tural relations of those huge Edentata and their connection 
with the present ones. South America teems with the fossil 
bones of these animals, which indeed penetrated into the 
northern half of the hemisphere as high up as Georgia and 
Kentucky, where their remains have been found. The 
living representatives of the family are also numerous in 
South America, and we should make it one of our chief 
objects to get specimens of all ages and examine them from 
their earliest phases upward. We must, above all, try not to 
be led away from the more important aims of our study by 
the diversity of objects. I have known many young natu- 
ralists to miss the highest success by trying to cover too 
much ground, — by becoming collectors rather than investi- 
gators. Bitten by the mania for amassing a great number 
and variety of species, such a man never returns to the 
general consideration of more comprehensive features. We 
must try to set before ourselves certain important questions, 
and give ourselves resolutely to the investigation of these 
points, even though we should sacrifice less important 
things more readily reached. 

" Another type full of interest, from an embryological 
point of view, will be the Monkeys. Since some of our scien- 
tific colleagues look upon them as our ancestors, it is impor- 
tant that we should collect as many facts as possible concern- 
ing their growth. Of course it would be better if we could 
make the investigation in the land of the Orangs, Gorillas, 
and Chimpanzees, — the highest monkeys and the nearest to 
man in their development. Still even the process of growth 
in the South American monkey will be very instructive. 
Give a mathematician the initial elements of a series, and 



26 



A JOURNEY m BRAZIL. 



he will work out the whole ; and so I belie.ve when the laws 
of embryological development are better understood, natu- 
ralists will have a key to the limits of these cycles of growth, 
and be able to appoint them their natural boundaries even 
from partial data. 

" Next in importance I would place the Tapirs. This is 
one of a family whose geological antecedents are very 
important and interesting. The Mastodons, the Palasothe- 
rium, the Dinotherium, and other large Mammalia of the 
Tertiaries, are closely related to the Tapir. The elephant, 
rhinoceros, and the like, are of the same family. From its 
structural standing next to "the elephant, which is placed 
highest in the group, the embryology of the Tapir would 
give us a very complete series of changes. It would seem 
from some of the fossil remains of this family that the 
Pachyderms were formerly more nearly related to the 
Ruminants and Rodents than they now are. Therefore it 
would be well to study the embryology of the Capivari, the 
Paca, and the Peccary, in connection with that of the Tapir. 
Lastly, it will be important to learn something of the em- 
bryology of the Manatee or Sea-Cow of the Amazons. It is 
something like a porpoise in outline, and seems to be the 
modern representative of the ancient Dinotherium." 

April 12th. — The lecture to-day was addressed especially 
to the ornithologists of the party, its object being to show 
how the same method of study, — that of testing the classifi- 
cation by the -phases of growth in the different groups, — 
might be applied to the birds as profitably as to other types. 

We have made good progress in the last forty-eight hours, 
and are fast leaving our friends " the trades " behind. The 
captain promises us smooth waters in a day or two. With 
the dying away of the wind will come greater heat, but as 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 27 



yet we have had no intensely warm weather. The sun, 
however, keeps us within doors a great part of the day, 
but in the evening we sit on the guards, watch the sunset 
over the waters, and then the moonlight, and so while away 
the time till nine or ten o'clock, when one by one the party 
disperses. The sea has been so rough that we have not 
been able to capture anything, but when we get into 
smoother waters, our naturalists will be on the look out 
for jelly-fish, argonautas, and the like. 

April V&th. — In to-day's lecture Mr. Agassiz returned 
again to the subject of geographical distribution and the 
importance of localizing the collections with great precision. 

" As Rio de Janeiro is our starting-point, the water-system 
in its immediate neighborhood will be as it were a school- 
room for us during the first week of our Brazilian life. 
We shall not find it so easy a matter as it seems to keep 
our collections distinct in this region. The head-waters of 
some of the rivers near Rio, flowing in opposite directions, 
are in such close proximity that it will be difficult sometimes 
to distinguish them. Outside of the coast range, to which the 
Organ Mountains belong, are a number of short streams, little 
rills, so to speak, emptying directly into the ocean. It will 
be important to ascertain whether the same animals occur 
in all these short water-courses. I think this will be found 
to be the case, because it is so with corresponding small 
rivers on our northern coast. There are little rivers along 
the whole coast from Maine to New Jersey ; all these dis- 
connected rivers contain a similar fauna. There is another 
extensive range inland of the coast ridge, the Serra de 
Mantiquera, sloping gently down to the ocean south of the 
Rio Belmonte or Jequitinhonha. Rivers arising in this 
range are more complex ; they have ]arge tributaries. 



28 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Their upper part is usually broken by waterfalls, their 
lower course being more level ; probably in the lower 
courses of these rivers we shall find fishes similar to those 
of the short coast streams, while in the higher broken 
waters we shall find distinct faunae." The lecture closed 
with some account of the excursions likely to be undertaken 
in the neighborhood of Rio de J aneiro on arriving, and with 
some practical instructions about collecting, based upon Mr. 
Agassiz's personal experience.* 

* On account of the many exploring expeditions for which the Bay of 
Rio de Janeiro has been a favorite port, it has acquired a special interest for 
the naturalist. It may seem at first sight as if the fact that French, English, 
German, Russian, and American expeditions have followed each other in this 
locality, during the last century, each bringing away its rich harvest of speci- 
mens, by diminishing its novelty would rather lessen than increase its interest 
as a collecting ground. On the contrary, for the very reason that the speci- 
mens from which the greater part of the descriptions and figures contained in 
the published accounts of these voyages were obtained from Rio de Janeiro 
and its neighborhood, it becomes indispensable that every zoological museum 
aiming at scientific accuracy and completeness should have original specimens 
from that very locality for the identification of species already described. 
Otherwise doubts respecting the strict identity or specific difference of speci- 
mens obtained on other parts of the Atlantic shore, not only in South America 
but in Central and North America, may at any time invalidate important gen- 
eralizations concerning the distribution of animals in these seas. From this 
point of view, the Bay of Rio de Janeiro forms a most important centre of 
comparison, and it was for this reason that we made so prolonged a stay there. 
Although the prospect of discovering any novelties was diminished by the 
extensive investigations of our predecessors, I well knew that whatever we 
collected there would greatly increase the value of our collections elsewhere. 
One of my special aims was to ascertain how far the marine animals inhabiting 
the coast of Brazil to the south of Cape Frio differed from those to the north 
of it, and furthermore, how the animals found along the coast between Cape 
Frio and Cape St. Roque differed from or agreed with those inhabiting the 
more northern shore of the continent and the West Indian Islands. In the 
course of the following chapters I shall have occasion to return, more in de- 
tail, to this subject. — L. A. 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 29 



April 14th. — Last evening was the most beautiful we 
have had since we left home ; perfectly clear with the 
exception of soft white masses of cloud on the horizon, 
all their edges silvered by the moonlight. We looked our 
last for many months to come on the north star, and saw the 
southern cross for the first time. With the visible image I 
lost a far more wonderful constellation which had lived in 
my imagination ; it has vanished with all its golden glory, a 
celestial vision as amazing as that which converted Constan- 
tine, and in its place stands the veritable constellation with 
its four little points of light. 

The lecture to-day was upon the fishes of South America. 
" I will give you this morning a slight sketch of the charac- 
teristic fishes in South America, as compared with those of 
the Old World and North America. Though I do not know 
how the fishes are distributed in the regions to which we 
are going, and it is just upon the investigation of this point 
that I want your help, I know their character as dis- 
tinguished from those of other continents. We must re- 
member that the most important aim of all our studies in 
this direction will be the solution of the' question whether 
any given fauna is distinct and has originated where it now 
exists. To this end I shall make you acquainted with the 
Brazilian animals so far as I can in the short time we have 
before beginning our active operations, in order that you 
may be prepared to detect the law of their geographical 
distribution. I shall speak to-day more especially of the 
fresh-water fishes. 

" In the northern hemisphere there is a remarkable group 
of fishes known as the Sturgeons. They are chiefly found 
in the waters flowing into the Polar seas, as the Mackenzie 
River on our own continent, the Lena and Yenissei in the 



30 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Old World, and in all the rivers and lakes of the temperate 
zone, communicating with the Atlantic Ocean. They occur 
in smaller numbers in most tributaries of the Mediterra- 
nean, but are common in the Yolga and Danube, as well 
as in the Mississippi, in some of the rivers on our north- 
ern Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and in China. This fam- 
ily has no representatives in Africa, Southern Asia, Austra- 
lia, or South America, but there is a group corresponding 
in a certain way to it in South America, — that of the Go- 
niodonts. Though some ichthyologists place them widely 
apart in their classifications, there is, on the whole, a 
striking resemblance between the Sturgeons and Gonio- 
donts. Groups of this kind, reproducing certain features 
common to both, but differing by special structural modifica- 
tions, are called 4 representative types.' This name applies 
more especially to such groups when they are distributed 
over different parts of the world. To naturalists the com- 
parison of one of these types with another is very interest- 
ing, as touching upon the question of origin of species. To 
those who believe that animals are derived from one another 
the alternative here presented is very clear : either one of 
these groups grew out of the other, or else they both had 
common ancestors which were neither Sturgeons nor Goni- 
odonts, but combined the features of both and gave birth to 
each. 

" There is a third family of fishes, the Hornpouts or Bull- 
heads, called Siluroids by naturalists, which seem by their 
structural character to occupy an intermediate position be- 
tween the Sturgeons and Goniodonts. There would seem 
to be, then, in these three groups, so similar in certain fea- 
tures, so distinct in others, the elements of a series. But 
while their structural relations suggest a common origin, 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 31 

their geographical distribution seems to exclude it. Take, 
for instance, the Hornpouts ; they are very few in the north- 
ern hemisphere, hardly ever occurring in those rivers where 
the Sturgeons abound, and they are very numerous in the 
southern hemisphere, in southern Asia, Australia, Africa, 
and South America, where the Sturgeons are altogether 
wanting. In South America the Siluroids everywhere exist 
with the Goniodonts, in all other parts of the world without 
them ; the Goniodonts being only found in South America. 
If these were the ancestors of the Siluroids in South Amer- 
ica, they were certainly not their ancestors anywhere else. 
If the Sturgeons were the ancestors of the Siluroids and of 
the Goniodonts, it is strange that their progeny should con- 
sist of these two families in South America, and in the Old 
World of the Siluroids only. But if all three had some 
other common ancestry, it would be still more extraordinary 
that its progeny should exhibit so specific a distribution upon 
the surface of our globe. The Siluroids lay very large eggs, 
and as they are very abundant in South America we shall 
no doubt have opportunities of collecting them. Of the re- 
production of the Goniodonts absolutely nothing is known. 
Of course the embryology of both these groups would have 
a direct bearing on the problem of their origin. 

"Another family very abundant in various parts of the 
world is that of the Perches. They are found all over North 
America, Europe, and Northern Asia ; but there is not one 
to be found in the fresh waters of the southern hemisphere. 
In South America and in Africa they are represented how- 
ever by a very similar group, that of the Chromids. These 
two groups are so much akin that from their structure it 
would seem natural to suppose that the Chromids were 
transformed Perches ; the more so, since in the western 



32 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



hemisphere the latter extend from the high north to Texas, 
south of which they are represented by the Chromids. Here 
the geographical as well as the structural transition would 
seem an easy one. But look at the eastern hemisphere. 
Perches abound in Asia, Europe, and Australia, but there 
are no Chromids there. How is it that the Perches of this 
continent have been so fertile in producing Chromids, and 
the Perches of all other continents, except Africa, absolutely 
sterile in this respect ? Or if we reverse the proposition, 
and suppose the Perches to have grown out of the Chromids, 
why have their ancestry disappeared so completely on the 
Asiatic side of the world, while they do not seem to have 
diminished on this ? And if Perches and Chromids should 
be represented as descending from an older common type, 
I would answer that Palaeontology knows nothing of such a 
pedigree. 

" Next come the Chubs, or in scientific nomenclature the 
Cyprinoids. These fishes, variously called Chubs, Suckers, 
or Carps, abound in all the fresh waters of the northern 
hemisphere. They are also numerous in the eastern part 
of the southern hemisphere, but have not a single represent- 
ative in South America. As the Goniodonts are charac- 
teristic of the southern hemisphere in its western half, so 
this group seems to be characteristic of it in its eastern 
half. But while the Cyprinoids have no representative in 
South America, there is another group there, structurally 
akin to them, called the Cyprinodonts. They are all small- 
sized ; our Minnows belong to this group. From Maine to 
Texas they are found in all the short rivers or creeps all 
along the coast. It is for this reason that I expect to find 
the short coast rivers of South America abounding in Min 
nows. I remember to have found in the neighborhood of 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 33 

Mobile no less than six new species in the course of an af- 
ternoon's ramble. These fishes are almost all viviparous, or 
at least lay their eggs in a very advanced state of develop- 
ment of the young. The sexes differ so greatly in appear- 
ance that they have sometimes been described as distinct 
species, nay, even as distinct genera.* We must be on our 
guard against a similar mistake. Here again we have two 
groups, the Cyprinoids and Cyprinodonts, so similar in 
their structural features that the development of one out 
of the other naturally suggests itself. But in South Amer- 
ica there are no Cyprinoids at all, while the Cyprinodonts 
abound ; in Europe, Asia, and North America on the con- 
trary, the Cyprinoids are very numerous and the Cyprino 
donts comparatively few." The Characines were next con- 
sidered with reference to their affinities as well as their 
geographical distribution ; and a few remarks were added 
upon the smaller families known to have representatives in 
the fresh waters of South America, such as the Erythri- 
noids, the Gymnotines, &c. " I am often asked what is my 
chief aim in this expedition to South America ? No doubt 
in a general way it is to collect materials for future study. 
But the conviction which draws me irresistibly, is that the 
combination of animals on this continent, where the faunae 
are so characteristic and so distinct from all others, will give 
me the means of showing that the transmutation theory is 
wholly without foundation in facts." The lecture closed 
with some account of the Salmonidse, found all over the 
northern hemisphere, but represented in South America by 
the Characines, distinct species of which may be looked for 
in the separate water-basins of Brazil ; and also of several 
other important families of South American fishes, espe- 

* Molinesia and Pcecilia. 

3 



34 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 

f 

cially the Osteoglossum, the Sudis, &c, interesting on ac- 
count of their relation to an extinct fossil type, that of the 
Ccelacanths.* 

April 17th. — Yesterday was Easter Sunday, and the day 
was beautiful. The services from Bishop Potter in the 
morning were very interesting ; the more so for us on ac- 
count of the God speed he gave us. Wind and weather 
permitting, it is the last Sunday we shall pass on board ship 
together. The Bishop spoke with much earnestness and 
sympathy of the objects of the expedition, addressing him- 
self especially to the young men, not only with reference 
to their duties as connected with a scientific undertaking, 
but as American citizens in a foreign country at this time 
of war and misapprehension. 

This morning we were quite entertained at meeting a 
number of the so-called " Catamarans," the crazy crafts of 
the fishermen, who appear to be amphibious animals on this 
coast. Their boats consist of a few logs lashed together, 
over which the water breaks at every moment without ap- 
parently disturbing the occupants in the least. They fish, 
walk about, sit, lie down or stand, eat, drink, and sleep, to 
all appearance as contented and comfortable as we are in 
our princely steamer. Usually they go into port at night- 
fall, but are occasionally driven out to sea by the wind, and 
may sometimes be met with two hundred miles and more 
from the shore. To-day we have fairly come upon the South 
American coast. Yesterday we could catch sight occasion 

* This lecture was accompanied by careful descriptions and drawings on the 
blackboard, showing the structural differences between these groups These 
are omitted, as they would have little interest for the general reader. The 
chief object in reporting these lectures is to show the aims which Mr. Agassiz 
placed before himself and his companions in laying out the work of the expe- 
dition, and these are made sufficiently clear without further scientific details. 



VOYAGE FEOM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 35 

ally of low sand banks ; but this morning we have sailed 
past the pretty little town of Olinda, with its convent on 
the hill, and the larger city of Pernambuco, whose white 
houses come quite down to the sea-shore. Immediately in 
front of the town lies the reef, which runs southward along 
the coast for a hundred miles and more, enclosing between 
itself and the shore a strip of quiet waters, forming admi- 
rable anchorage for small shipping. Before Pernambuco 
this channel is quite deep, and directly in front of the town 
there is a break in the reef forming a natural gateway 
through which large vessels can enter. We have now left 
the town behind, but the shore is still in sight ; a flat coast 
rising into low hills behind, and here and there dotted with 
villages and fishing-huts. 

The lecture on Saturday was rather practical than scien- 
tific, on the best modes of collecting and preserving speci- 
mens, the instruments to be used, &c. To-day it was upon 
the classification of fishes as illustrated by embryology ; the 
same method of study as that explained the other day and 
now applied to the class of fishes. " All fishes at the time 
when the germ becomes distinct above the yolk have a 
continuous fin over the whole back, around the tail, and 
under the abdomen. The naked reptiles, those which have 
no scales, such as frogs, toads, salamanders, and the like, 
share in this embryological feature of the fishes. From this 
identity of development I believe the naked reptiles to be 
structurally nearer to the true fishes than to the scaly rep- 
tiles. All fishes, and indeed all Vertebrates, even the high- 
est, have, at this early period, fissures in the side of the neck. 
These are the first indications of gills, an organ the basis for 
which exists in all Vertebrates at a certain period of their 
life, but is fully developed and functionally active only in 



86 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



the lower ones, in which it acquires a special final structure ; 
giving place to lungs in the higher ones before they reach 
their adult condition. From this time forward not only the 
class characters, but those of the family, begin to be dis- 
tinguished. I will show you to-day how we may improve 
the classification of fishes by studying their embryology. 
Take, for instance, the family of Cods in its widest ac- 
ceptation. It consists of several genera, among which are 
the Cod proper, the Cusk, and the Brotula. Naturalists 
may differ in their estimation of the relative rank of these 
genera, and even with reference to their affinity, but the 
embryology of the Cod seems to me to give the natural 
scale. In its early condition the Cod has the continuous fin 
of the Brotula, next the dorsal and caudal fins become dis- 
tinct, as in the Cusk, and lastly the final individualization of 
the fins takes place, and they break up into the three dorsals 
and two anals of the Cod. Thus the Brotula represents the 
infantile condition of the Cod, and of course stands lowest, 
while the Cusk has its natural position between the two. 
There are other genera belonging to this family, as, for in- 
stance, the Lota or fresh-water Cusk and the Hake, the rela- 
tive position of which may be determined by further embryo- 
logical studies. I had an opportunity of observing some- 
thing in the development of the Hake which throws some 
light on the relation of the Ophidini to the Cod family, though 
thus far they have been associated with the Eel. The little 
embryonic Hake on which I made my investigation was about 
an inch and a half in length ; it was much more slender 
and elongated in proportion to its thickness than any of the 
family of Cods in their adult condition, and had a continu- 
ous fin all around the body. Although the structural rela- 
tions of the Eels are not fully understood, some of them, at 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 37 

least, now united as a distinct family under the name of 
Ophidini, are known to be closely connected with the Cods, 
and this character of the Hake in its early condition would 
seem to show that this type of Eel is a sort of embryonic 
form of the Cod family. 

" Another well-known family of fishes is that of the Lo- 
phioides. To this group belongs the Lophius or Goose-fish, 
with which the Cottoids or Sculpins, and the Blennioids, 
with Zoarces and Anarrhichas, the so-called Sea-cat, ought to 
be associated. It was my good fortune to have an opportu- 
nity of studying the development of the Lophius, and to my 
surprise I found that its embryonic phases included the 
whole series here alluded to, thus presenting another of 
those natural scales on which I hope all our scientific classi- 
fications will be remodelled when we obtain a better knowl- 
edge of embryology. The Lophius in its youngest stage re- 
calls the Taenioids, being long and compressed ; next it re- 
sembles the Blennioids, and growing stouter passes through 
a stage like Cottus, before it assumes the depressed form of 
Lophius. In the family of Cyprinodonts I have observed the 
young of Fundulus. They are destitute of ventrals, thus 
showing that the genus Orestias stands lowest in its family. 
I would allude to one other fact of this kind observed by Pro- 
fessor Wyman. There has been a doubt among naturalists 
as to the relative standing of the Skates and Sharks. On 
geological evidence I had placed the Skates highest, because 
the Sharks precede them in time ; but this fact had not been 
established on embryological evidence. Professor Wyman 
has followed the embryology of the Skate through all its 
phases, and has found that in its earlier condition it is slen- 
der in outline, with the appearance of a diminutive shark, 
and that only later it assumes the broad shield-like form and 



38 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 

long tapering tail of the skate. Were it only that they 
enable us to set aside all arbitrary decisions and base our 
classifications on the teachings of nature, these investigations 
would be invaluable ; but their importance is increased 
by the consideration that we are thus gradually led to 
recognize the true affinities which bind all organized beings 
into one great system." 

April 20th. — The day after to-morrow we shall enter 
the Bay of Rio de Janeiro. One begins to see already 
that little disturbance in the regularity of sea life which 
precedes arrival. People are making up their letters, and 
rearranging their luggage ; there is a slight stir pervading 
our small party of passengers and breaking up the even 
tenor of the uniform life we have been leading together 
for the last three weeks. It has been a delightful voyage, 
and yet, under the most charming circumstances, life at 
sea is a poor exchange for life on land, and we are all 
glad to be near our haven. 

On Tuesday the lecture was upon the formation and 
growth of the egg ; a sort of practical lesson in the study 
of embryology ; yesterday, upon the importance of ascer- 
taining, at the outset, the spawning season of the animals 
in Brazil, and the means to that end. " It will often be 
impossible for us to learn the breeding season of animals, a 
matter in which country people are generally very ignorant. 
But when we cannot obtain it from persons about us, 
there are some indications in the animals themselves 
which may serve as a guide. During my own investiga- 
tions upon the development of the turtles, when I opened 
many thousands of eggs, I found that in these animals, 
at least, the appearance of the ovaries is a pretty good 
guide. They always contain several sets of eggs. Those 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 



39 



which will be laid this year are the largest ; those of 
the following year are next in size ; those of two years 
hence still smaller, until we come to eggs so small that 
it is impossible to perceive any difference between their 
various phases of development. But we can readily tell 
whether there are any eggs so advanced as to be near 
laying, and distinguish between the brood of the year 
and those which are to be hatched later. When the eggs 
are about to be laid the whole surface is covered with 
ramifying bloodvessels, and the yolk is of a very clear 
bright yellow. Before the egg drops from the ovary this 
network bursts ; it shrivels up and forms a little scar 
on the side of the ovary. Should we, therefore, on ex- 
amining the ovary of a turtle, find that these scars are 
fresh, we may infer that the season for laying is not 
over ; or if we find some of the eggs much larger than 
the rest and nearly mature, we shall know that it is 
about to begin. How far this will hold good with respect 
to alligators and other animals I do not know. I have 
learned to recognize these signs in the turtles from my 
long study of their embryology. With fishes it could 
hardly be possible to distinguish the different sets of eggs 
because they lay such numbers, and they are all so small. 
But if we cannot distinguish the eggs of the different 
years, it will be something to learn the size of their broods, 
which differs very greatly in different families." 

The lecture concluded with some advice as to observing 
and recording the metamorphoses of insects. " Though 
much has been written on the societies of ants and other 
like communities in Brazil, the accounts of different natu- 
ralists do not agree. It would be well to collect the larvae 
of a great many insects, and try to raise them ; but as this 



40 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



will be difficult and often impossible in travelling, we must 
at least get the nests of ants, bees, wasps, and the like, in 
order to ascertain all we can respecting their communities. 
"When these are not too large it is easy to secure them by 
slipping a bag over them, thus taking the whole settlement 
captive. It may then be preserved by dipping into alcohol, 
and examined at leisure, so as to ascertain the number and 
nature of the individuals contained in it, and learn some- 
thing at least of their habits. Nor let us neglect the do- 
mestic establishments of spiders. There is an immense 
variety of spiders in South America, and a great differ- 
ence in their webs. It would be well to preserve these on 
sheets of paper, to make drawings of them, and examine 
their threads microscopically." 

April 21st. — Yesterday Mr. Agassiz gave his closing 
lecture, knowing that to-day all would be occupied with 
preparations for landing. He gave a little history of Steen- 
strup and Sars, and showed the influence their embryologi- 
cal investigations have had in reforming classification, and 
also their direct bearing upon the question of the origin of 
species. To these investigators science owes the discovery 
of the so-called " alternate generations," in which the Hy- 
droid, either by budding or by the breaking up of its own 
body, gives rise to numerous jelly-fishes ; these lay eggs 
which produce Hydroids again, and the Hydroids renew 
the process as before.* 

" These results are but recently added to the annals of sci- 

* As these investigations have heen published with so much detail ( Steen 
strup, Alternate Generation, Sars's Fauna Norwegica ; L. Agassiz, Contr. te 
Nat. Hist, of U. S.), it has not been thought necessary to reproduce this parr 
of the lecture here. Any one who cares to read a less technical account of 
these investigations than those originally published, will find it in " Methods 
of Study," by L. Agassiz. 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 41 

ence, and are not yet very extensively known in the com- 
munity ; but when the facts are more fully understood, they 
cannot fail to affect the fundamental principles of zoology, 
I have been astonished to see how little weight Darwin 
himself gives to this series of transformations ; he hardly 
alludes to it, and yet it has a very direct bearing on his 
theory, since it shows that, however great the divergence 
from the starting-point in any process of development, it 
ever returns to the road of its normal destiny ; the cycle 
may be wide, but the boundaries are as impassable as if it 
were narrower. However these processes of development 
may approach, or even cross each other, they never end in 
making any living being different from the one which gave 
it birth, though in reaching that point it may pass through 
phases resembling other animals. 

"In considering these questions we should remember how 
slight are most of those specific differences, the origin of 
which gives rise to so much controversy, in comparison with 
the cycle of changes undergone by every individual in the 
course of its development. There are numerous genera, 
including many very closely allied species, distinguished by 
differences which, were it not for the fact that they have 
remained unchanged and invariable through ages, might be 
termed insignificant. Such, for instance, are the various 
species of corals found in the everglades of Florida, where 
they lived and died ages ago, and had the identical 
specific differences by which we distinguish their succes- 
sors in the present Florida reefs. The whole science of 
zoology in its present condition is based upon the fact that 
these slight differences are maintained generation after gen- 
eration. And yet every individual on such a coral stock, — 
and the same is true of any individual in * any class whatso- 



42 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



ever of the whole animal kingdom, whether Radiate, Mol- 
lusk, Articulate, or Vertebrate, — before reaching its*adult 
condition and assuming the permanent characters which dis- 
tinguish it from other species, and have never been known to 
vary, passes in a comparatively short period through an ex- 
traordinary transformation, the successive phases of which 
differ far more from each other than do the adult species. 
In other words, the same individual differs more from him- 
self in successive stages of his growth than he does in his 
adult condition from kindred species of the same genus. 
The conclusion seems inevitable, that, if the slight differ- 
ences which distinguish species were not inherent, and if 
the phases through which every individual has to pass were 
not the appointed means to reach that end, themselves in- 
variable, there would be ever-recurring deviations from the 
normal types. Every naturalist knows that this is not the 
case. All the deviations known to us are monstrosities, and 
the occurrence of these, under disturbing influences, are to 
my mind only additional evidence of the fixity of species. 
The extreme deviations obtained in domesticity are secured, 
as is well known, at the expense of the typical characters, 
and end usually in the production of sterile individuals. 
All such facts seem to show that so-called varieties or 
breeds, far from indicating the beginning of new types, or 
the initiating of incipient species, only point out the range 
of flexibility in types which in their essence are invariable. 

" In the discussion of the development theory in its pres- 
ent form, a great deal is said of the imperfection of the 
geological record. But it seems to me that, however frag- 
mentary our knowledge of geology, its incompleteness does 
not invalidate certain important points in the evidence. It 
is well known tlkt the crust of our earth is divided into a 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 43 

number of layers, all of which contain the remains of dis- 
tinct populations. These different sets of inhabitants who 
have possessed the earth at successive periods have each 
a character of their own. The transmutation theory in- 
sists that they owe their origin to gradual transformations, 
and are not, therefore, the result of distinct creative acts. 
All agree, however, that we arrive at a lower stratum where 
no trace of life is to be found. Place it where we will: 
suppose that we are mistaken in thinking that we have 
reached the beginning of life with the lowest Cambrian 
deposit ; suppose that the first animals preceded this epoch, 
and that there was an earlier epoch, to be called the Lauren- 
tian system, beside many others older still ; it is nevertheless 
true that geology brings us down to a level at which the char- 
acter of the earth's crust made organic life impossible. At 
this point, wherever we place it, the origin of animals by de- 
velopment was impossible, because they had no ancestors. 
This is the true starting-point, and until we have some facts 
to prove that the power, whatever it was, which originated 
the first animals has ceased to act, I see no reason for refer- 
ring the origin of life to any other cause. I grant that we 
have no such evidence of an active creative power as Science 
requires for positive demonstration of her laws, and that 
we cannot explain the processes which lie at the origin of 
life. But if the facts are insufficient on our side, they are 
absolutely wanting on the other. We cannot certainly con- 
sider the development theory proved, because a few natu- 
ralists think it plausible : it seems plausible only to the 
few, and it is demonstrated by none. I bring this subject 
before you now, not to urge upon you this or that theory, 
strong as my own convictions are. I wish only to warn 
you, not against the development theory itself, but against 



44 



A JOURNEY LN BRAZIL. 



the looseness in the methods of study upon which it is 
based. Whatever be your ultimate opinions on this subject, 
let them rest on facts and not on arguments, however 
plausible. This is not a question to be argued, it is one 
to be investigated. 

" As I have advanced in these talks with you, I have 
become more and more dissatisfied, feeling the difficulty 
of laying out our work without a practical familiarity 
with the objects themselves. But this is the inevitable 
position of one who is seeking the truth : till we have 
found it, we are more or less feeling our way. I am aware 
that in my lectures I have covered a far wider range of 
subjects than we can handle, even if every man do his 
very best ; if we accomplish one tenth of the work I 
have suggested, I shall be more than satisfied with the 
result of the expedition. In closing, I can hardly add 
anything to the impressive admonitions of Bishop Potter 
in his parting words to us last Sunday, for which I thank 
him in your name and my own. But I would remind 
you, that, while America has recovered her political inde- 
pendence, while we all have that confidence in our insti- 
tutions which makes us secure, that so far as we are 
true to them, doing what we do conscientiously and in 
full view of our responsibilities we shall be in the right 
path, we have not yet achieved our intellectual indepen- 
dence. There is a disposition in this country to refer 
all literary and scientific matters to European tribunals ; 
to accept a man because he has obtained the award of 
societies abroad. An American author is often better 
satisfied if he publish his book in England than at home. 
In my opinion, every man who publishes his work on the 
other side of the water deprives his country of so much 



VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 45 

intellectual capital to which she has a right. Publish 
your results at home, and let Europe discover whether 
they are worth reading. Not until you are faithful to 
your citizenship in your intellectual as well as your po- 
litical life, will you be truly upright and worthy students 
of nature." 

At the conclusion of these remarks a set of resolutions 
was read by Bishop Potter.* They were followed by a 
few little friendly speeches, all made in the most informal 
and cordial spirit ; and so ended our course of lectures 
on board the Colorado. Later in the day we observed 
singular bright red patches in the sea. Some were not 
less than seven or eight feet in length, rather oblong, 
and the whole mass looked as red as blood. Sometimes they 
seemed to lie on the very top of the water, sometimes to 
be a little below it, so as only to tinge the rippling surface. 
One of the sailors succeeded in catching a portion of it in a 
bucket, when it was found to consist of a solid mass of 
little crustaceans, bright red in color. They were all very 
lively, keeping up a constant rapid motion. Mr. Agassiz 
examined them under the microscope and found them to 
be the young of a crab. He has no doubt that every such 
patch is a single brood, floating thus compactly together 
like spawn. 

* See Appendix No. III. 



46 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTER II. 

RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. — JUIZ DE FORA. 

Arrival. — Aspect of Harbor and City. — Custom-House. — First Glimpse 
of Brazilian Life. — Negro Dance. — Effect of Emancipation in United 
States upon Slavery in Brazil. — First Aspect of Rio de Janeiro on 
Land. — Picturesque Street Groups. — Eclipse of the Sun. — At Home 
in Rio. — Larangeiras. — Passeio Publico. — Excursion on the Dom 
Pedro Railroad. — Visit of the Emperor to the Colorado. — Cor- 
diality of Government to the Expedition. — Laboratory. — Botanical 
Garden. — Alley of Palms. — Excursion to the Corcovado. — Juiz 
de Fora Road. — Petropolis. — Tropical Vegetation. — Ride from 
Petropolis to Juiz de Fora. — Visit to Senhor Lage. — Excursion to 
the " Forest of the Empress." — Visit to Mr. Halfeld. — Return to 
Rio. — News of the Great Northern Victories, and of the President's 
Assassination. 

April 23d. — Yesterday at early dawn we made Cape 
Frio light, and at seven o'clock were aroused by the wel- 
come information that the Organ Mountains were in sight. 
The coast range here, though not very lofty, (its highest 
summits ranging only from two to three thousand feet,) is 
bold and precipitous. The peaks are very conical, and 
the sides slope steeply to the water's edge, where, in many 
places, a wide beach runs along their base. The scenery 
grew more picturesque as we approached the entrance of 
the bay, which is guarded by heights rising sentinel-like 
on either side. Once within this narrow rocky portal, 
the immense harbor, stretching northward for more than 
twenty miles, seems rather like a vast lake enclosed by 
mountains than like a bay. On one side extends the 
ridge which shuts it from the sea, broken by the sharp 
peaks of the Corcovado, the Tijuca, and the flat-topped 
(ravia ; on the other side, and more inland, the Organ 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



47 



Mountains lift their singular needle-like points, while 
within the entrance rises the bare bleak rock so well 
known as the Sugar Loaf (Pad de Assucar~). Were it not 
for the gateway behind us, through which we still have a 
glimpse of the open ocean, and for the shipping lying 
here at anchor, leaving the port or entering it, we might 
easily believe that we were floating on some great quiet 
sheet of inland water. 

We reached our anchorage at eleven o'clock, but were 
in no haste to leave the ocean home where we have been 
so happy and so comfortable for three weeks past ; and 
as the captain had kindly invited us to stay on board till 
our permanent arrangements were made, we remained on 
deck, greatly entertained by all the stir and confusion 
attending our arrival. Some of our young people took 
one of the many boats which crowded at once around 
our steamer, and went directly to the city ; but we were 
satisfied with the impressions of the day, and not sorry 
to leave them undisturbed. As night came on, sunset 
lit up the mountains and the harbor. In this latitude, 
however, the glory of the twilight is soon over, and as 
darkness fell upon the city it began to glitter with innu- 
merable lights along the shore and on the hillsides. 
The city of Rio de Janeiro spreads in a kind of crescent 
shape around the western side of the bay, its environs 
stretching out to a considerable distance along the beaches, 
and running up on to the hills behind also. On account 
of this disposition of the houses, covering a Wide area 
and scattered upon the water's edge, instead of being 
compact and concentrated, the appearance of the city at 
night is exceedingly pretty. It has a kind of scenic effect. 
The lights run up on the hill-slopes, a little cluster crown- 



48 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



ing their summits here and there, and they glimmer all 
along the shore for two or three miles on either side of 
the central, business part of the town. 

Soon after our arrival Mr. Agassiz received an official 
visit from a custom-house agent, saying that he had 
orders to land all our baggage without examination, and 
that a boat would be sent at any day and hour convenient 
to him to bring his effects on shore. This was a great 
relief, as the scientific apparatus, added to the personal 
luggage of so large a party, makes a fearful array of boxes, 
cases, &c. It would be a long business to pass it all 
through the cumbrous ceremonies of a custom-house. 
This afternoon, while Mr. Agassiz had gone to San Chris- 
tovao* to acknowledge this courtesy and to pay his respects 
to the Emperor, we were wandering over a little island 
(ITha das Enxadas) near which our ship lies, and from 
which she takes in coal for her farther voyage. The 
proprietor, besides his coal- wharf, has a very pretty house 
and garden, with a small chapel adjoining. It was my 
first glimpse of tropical vegetation and of Brazilian life, 
and had all the charm of novelty. As we landed, a group 
of slaves, black as ebony, were singing and dancing a 
fandango. So far as we could understand, there was a 
leader who opened the game with a sort of chant, ap- 
parently addressed to each in turn as he passed around 
the circle, the others joining in chorus at regular intervals. 
Presently he broke into a dance which rose in wildness 
and excitement, accompanied by cries and ejaculations. 
The movements of the body were a singular combination 
of negro and Spanish dances. The legs and feet had the 
short, jerking, loose-jointed motion of our negroes in 

* The winter palace of the Emperor. 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 49 

dancing, while the upper part of the body and the arms 
had that swaying, rhythmical movement from side to side 
so characteristic of all the Spanish dances. After looking 
on for a while we went into the garden, where there 
were cocoanut and banana trees in fruit, passion-vines 
climbing over the house, with here and there a dark 
crimson flower gleaming between the leaves. The effect 
was pretty, and the whole scene had, to my eye, an aspect 
half Southern, half Oriental. It was nearly dark when 
we returned to the boat, but the negroes were continuing 
their dance under the glow of a bonfire. From time to 
time, as the dance reached its culminating point, they 
stirred their fire, and lighted up the wild group with 
its vivid blaze. The dance and the song had, like the 
amusements of the negroes in all lands, an endless mo- 
notonous repetition. Looking at their half-naked figures 
and unintelligent faces, the question arose, so constantly 
suggested when we come in contact with this race, 
" What will they do with this great gift of freedom ? " 
The only corrective for the half doubt is to consider the 
whites side by side with them : whatever one may think 
of the condition of slavery for the blacks, there can be 
no question as to its evil effects on their masters. Captain 
Bradbury asked the proprietor of the island whether he 
hired or owned his slaves. "Own them, — a hundred and 
more ; but it will finish soon," he answered in his broken 
English. " Finish soon ! how do you mean ? " "It finish 
with you ; and when it finish with you, it finish here, it 
finish everywhere." He said it not in any tone of regret 
or complaint, but as an inevitable fact. The death-note 
of slavery in the United States was its death-note every- 
where. We thought this significant and cheering. 

4 



50 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



April 24:th. — To-day we ladies went on shore for a few 
hours, engaged our rooms, and drove about the city a little. 
The want of cleanliness and thrift in the general aspect 
of Rio de Janeiro is very striking as compared with the 
order, neatness, and regularity of our large towns. The 
narrow streets, with the inevitable gutter running down the 
middle, — a sink for all kinds of impurities, — the absence 
of a proper sewerage, the general aspect of decay (partly 
due, no doubt, to the dampness of the climate), the indolent 
expression of the people generally, make a singular im- 
pression on one who comes from the midst of our stirring, 
energetic population. And yet it has a picturesqueness 
that, to the traveller at least, compensates for its defects. 
All who have seen one of these old Portuguese or Spanish 
tropical towns, with their odd narrow streets and many- 
colored houses with balconied windows and stuccoed or 
painted walls, only the more variegated from the fact 
that here and there the stucco has peeled off, know the 
fascination and the charm which make themselves felt, 
spite of the dirt and discomfort. Then the groups in the 
street, — the half-naked black carriers, many of them 
straight and firm as bronze statues under the heavy loads 
which rest so securely on their heads, the padres in their 
long coats and square hats, the mules laden with baskets 
of fruit or vegetables, — all this makes a motley scene, 
entertaining enough to the new-comer. I have never 
seen such effective-looking negroes, from an artistic point 
of view, as here. To-day a black woman passed us in 
the street, dressed in white, with bare neck and arms, 
the sleeves caught up with some kind of armlet, a large 
white turban of soft muslin on her head, and a long 
bright-colored shawl passed crosswise under one arm and 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



51 



thrown over the other shoulder, hanging almost to the 
feet behind. She no doubt was of the colored gentry. 
Just beyond her sat a black woman on the curbstone, 
almost without clothing, her glossy skin shining in the 
sun, and. her naked child asleep across her knees. Or 
take this as another picture : an old wall several feet wide, 
covered with vines, overhung with thick foliage, the top 
of which seems to be a stand for the venders of fruits, 
vegetables, &c. Here lies at full length a powerful negro 
looking over into the street, his jetty arms crossed on a 
huge basket of crimson flowers, oranges and bananas, 
against which he half rests, seemingly too indolent to lift 
a finger even to attract a purchaser. 

April 2bth. — Nature seems to welcome our arrival, not 
only by her most genial, but also by her exceptional moods. 
There has been to-day an eclipse of the sun, total at 
Cape Frio, sixty miles from here, almost total here. We 
saw it from the deck of the ship, not having yet taken 
up our quarters in town. The effect was as strange as 
it was beautiful. There was a something weird, uncanny 
in the pallor and chill which came over the landscape ; 
it was not in the least like a common twilight, but had 
a ghastly, phantom-like element in it. Mr. Agassiz passed 
the morning at the palace where the Emperor had invited 
him to witness the eclipse from his observatory. The clouds 
are poor courtiers, however, and unfortunately a mist hung 
over San Christovao, obscuring the phenomenon at the 
moment of its greatest interest. Our post of observation 
was better for this special occasion than the Imperial 
observatory, and yet, though the general scene was per- 
haps more effective in the harbor than on the shore, Mr. 
Agassiz had an opportunity of making some interesting 



52 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



observations on the action of animals under these novel 
circumstances. The following extract is from his notes. 
"The effect of the waning light on animals was very 
striking. The bay of Eio is daily frequented by large num- 
bers of frigate-birds and gannets, which at night fly to the 
outer islands to roost, while the carrion-crows (urubus*) 
swarming in the suburbs, and especially about the slaughter- 
houses of the city, retire to the mountains in the neighbor 
hood of Tijuca, their line of travel passing over San Christo- 
vao. As soon as the light began to diminish, these birds 
became uneasy ; evidently conscious that their day was 
strangely encroached upon, they were uncertain for a mo- 
ment how to act. Presently, however, as the darkness in- 
creased, they started for their usual night quarters, the water- 
birds flying southward, the vultures in a northwesterly di- 
rection, and they had all left their feeding-grounds before the 
moment of greatest obscurity arrived. They seemed to fly 
in all haste, but were not half-way to their night home when 
the light began to return with rapidly increasing brightness. 
Their confusion was now at its height. Some continued 
their flight towards the mountains or the harbor, others 
hurried back to the city, while others whirled about wholly 
uncertain what to do next. The re-establishment of the 
full light of noon seemed to decide them, however, upon 
making another day of it, and the whole crowd once more 
moved steadily toward the city." 

The cordial interest shown by the Emperor in all the 
objects of the present expedition is very encouraging to 
Mr. Agassiz. So liberal a spirit in the head of the govern- 
ment will make his own task comparatively easy. He has 
also seen several official persons on business appertaining 
to his scientific schemes. Everywhere he receives the 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



53 



warmest expressions of sympathy, and is assured that the 
administration will give him every facility in its power 
to carry out his plans. To-night finds us established in 
our rooms, and our Brazilian life begins ; with what suc- 
cess remains to be seen. While still on board the " Colo- 
rado " we seemed to have one foot on our own soil. 

April 26th. — This morning Mrs. C and myself 

devoted to the arranging of our little domestic matters, 
getting out our books, desks, and other knickknacks, and 
making ourselves at home in our new quarters, where 
we suppose we are likely to be for some weeks to come. 
This afternoon we drove out on the Larangeiras road 
(literally, the "orangery"). Our first drive in Rio left 
upon my mind an impression of picturesque decay ; things 
seemed falling to pieces, it is true, but mindful of artistic 
effect even in their last moments. This impression was 
quite effaced to-day. Every city has .its least becoming 
aspect, and it seems we had chosen an unfavorable direction 
for our first tour of observation. The Larangeiras road is 
lined on either side by a succession of country houses ; 
low and spreading, often with* wide verandas, surrounded 
by beautiful gardens, glowing at this season with the scarlet 
leaves of the Poinsettia, or " Estrella do Norte " as they 
call it here, with blue and yellow Bignonias, and many other 
shrubs and vines, the names of which we have hardly 
learned as yet. Often, as we drove along, a wide gateway, 
opening into an avenue of palms, would give us a glimpse 
of Brazilian life. Here and there a group of people were 
sitting in the garden, or children were playing in the 
grounds under the care of their black nurses. Farther 
out of town the country houses were less numerous, but 
the scenery was more picturesque, The road winds im 



54 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



mediately under the mountains to the foot of the Cor- 
covado, where it becomes too steep for carriages, the farther 
ascent being made on mules or horses. But it was too late 
for us, — the peak of the Corcovado was already bathed in 
the setting sun. We wandered a little way up the ro- 
mantic path, gathered a few flowers, and then drove back 
to the city, stopping on our return to ramble for half an hour 
in the " Passeio Publico." This is a pretty public garden 
on the bay, not large but tastefully laid out, its great 
charm being a broad promenade built up from the water's 
edge with very solid masonry, against which the waves 
break with a refreshing coolness. To-morrow we are in- 
vited by Major Ellison, chief engineer of the Dom Pedro 
Railroad, to go out to the terminus of the road, some hun- 
dred miles through the heart of the Serra do Mar. 

April 21th. — Perhaps in all our journeyings through 
Brazil we shall not have a day more impressive to us all 
than this one ; we shall, no doubt, see wilder scenery, 
but the first time that one looks upon nature, under an 
entirely new aspect, has a charm that can hardly be re- 
peated. The first view of high mountains, the first glimpse 
of the broad ocean, the first sight of a tropical vegetation 
in all its fulness, are epochs in one's life. This wonderful 
South American forest is so matted together and inter- 
twined with gigantic parasites that it seems more like a 
solid, compact mass of green than like the leafy screen, 
vibrating with every breeze and transparent to the sun, 
which represents the forest in the temperate zone. Many 
of the trees in the region we passed through to-day seemed 
in the embrace of immense serpents, so large were the 
stems of the parasites winding about them ; orchids of 
various kinds and large size grew upon their trunks ; and 




Tree entwined by Sipos. 



KIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



55 



vines climbed to their summits and threw themselves 
down in garlands to the ground. On the embankments 
also between which we passed, vines of many varieties 
were creeping down, as if they would fain clothe in green 
garments the ugly gaps the railroad had made. Yet it 
must be confessed that, in this instance, the railroad has 
not destroyed, but rather heightened, the picturesque scen- 
ery, cutting, as it does, through passes which give beauti- 
ful vistas into the heart of the mountain range. Once, as 
we issued from a tunnel, where the darkness seemed tan- 
gible, upon an exquisite landscape all gleaming in the 
sunshine, a general shout from the whole party testified 
their astonishment and admiration. We were riding on 
an open car in front of the engine, so that nothing im- 
peded our view, and we had no inconvenience from smoke 
or cinders. During the latter part of the ride we came 
into the region of the most valuable coffee-plantations ; 
and indeed the road is chiefly supported by the transpor- 
tation of the immense quantities of coffee raised along its 
track or beyond it. Near its terminus is an extensive 
fazenda, from which we were told that five or six hun- 
dred tons of coffee are sent out in a good year. These 
fazendas are singular-looking establishments, low (usually 
only one story) and very spreading, the largest of them 
covering quite an extensive area. As they are rather 
isolated in situation, they must include within their own 
borders all that is needed to keep them up. There is 
something very primitive in the way of life of these 
great country proprietors. Major Ellison told me that 
some time ago a wealthy Marqueza living at some dis- 
tance beyond him in the interior, and going to town for 
a stay of a few weeks, stopped at his house to rest. 



56 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



She had a troop of thirty-one pack-mules, laden with all 
conceivable baggage, besides provisions of every sort, fowls, 
hams, &c, and a train of twenty-five servants. Their hos- 
pitality is said to be unbounded ; you have only to present 
yourself at their gates at the end of a day's journey, and 
if you have the air of a respectable traveller, you are sure 
of a hearty welcome, shelter and food. The card of a 
friend or a note of introduction insures you all the house 
can afford for as long as you like to stay. 

The last three miles of our journey was over what is 
called the " temporary road," the use of which will be 
discontinued as soon as the great tunnel is completed. 
I must sa,y, that to the inexperienced this road looks ex- 
ceedingly perilous, especially that part of it which is 
carried over a wooden bridge 65 feet high, with a very 
strong curvature and a gradient of 4 per cent (211 feet 
per mile). As you feel the engine laboring up the steep 
ascent, and, looking out, find yourself on the edge of a 
precipitous bank, and almost face to face with the hindmost 
car, while the train bends around the curve, it is difficult 
to resist the sense of insecurity. It is certainly greatly 
to the credit of the management of the line that no 
accident has occurred under circumstances where the least 
carelessness would be fatal.* 

It gives one an idea of the labor expended on this 
railroad, to learn that for the great tunnel alone, now 
almost completed (one of fourteen), a corps of some three 

* Some weeks after this I chanced to ask a beautiful young Brazilian 
woman, recently married, whether she had ever been over this temporary 
road for the sake of seeing the picturesque scenery. "No," she answered 
with perfect seriousness, " I am young and very happy, and I do not wish 
to die yet." It was an amusing comment on the Brazilian estimate of the 
dangers attending the journey. 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



57 



hundred men, relieving each other alternately, have been 
at work day and night, excepting Sundays, for seven 
years. The sound lof hammer and pick during that time 
has hardly ever been still, and so hard is the rock through 
which the tunnel is pierced, that often the heaviest blows 
of the sledge yield only a little dust, — no more in bulk 
than a pinch of snuff.* 

On our return we were detained for half an hour at 
a station on the bank of the river Parahyba. This first 
visit to one of the considerable rivers of Brazil was not 
without its memorable incident. One of our friends of 
the Colorado, who parts from us here on his way to San 
Francisco, said he was determined not to leave the expe- 

* This road, which is but the beginning of railroad travel in Brazil, 
opens a rich prospect for scientific study. Erom this time forward the difficulty 
of transporting collections from the interior to the seaboard will be diminish- 
ing. Instead of the few small specimens of tropical vegetation now preserved 
in our museums, I hope that hereafter, in every school where geology and 
palaeontology are taught, we shall have large stems and portions of trunks 
to show the structure of palms, tree-ferns, and the like, — trees which represent 
in modern times the ancient geological forests. The time is coming when our 
text-books of botany and zoology will lose their local, limited character, and 
present comprehensive pictures of Nature in all her phases. Then only will 
it be possible to make true and pertinent comparisons between the condi- 
tion of the earth in former times and its present aspect under different zones 
and climates. To this day the fundamental principle guiding our identification 
of geological formations in different ages rests upon the assumption that each 
period has had one character throughout ; whereas the progress of geology is 
daily pressing upon us the evidence that at each period different latitudes and 
different continents have always had their characteristic animals and plants, if 
not as diversified as now, at least varied enough to exclude the idea of uni- 
formity. Not only do I look for a vast improvement in our collections with 
improved methods of travel and transportation in Brazil, but I hope that 
scientific journeys in the tropics will cease to be occasional events in the 
progress and civilization of nations, and will be as much within the reach of 
every student as journeys in the temperate zone have hitherto been. For fur- 
ther details respecting the building of this road, see Appendix No. IV. — L. A. 



58 



A JOURNEY W BRAZIL. 



dition without contributing something to its results. He 
improvised a fishing apparatus, with a stick, a string, and 
a crooked pin, and caught two fishes, our first harvest 
from the fresh waters of Brazil, one of which was en- 
tirely new to Mr. Agassiz, while the other he had never 
seen, and only knew from descriptions. 

April 28th. — This morning we went over to the Colorado, 
which still lies in the harbor, and where the visit of the 
Emperor was expected. We all felt an interest in the 
occasion, for we have a kind of personal pride in the 
fine ship whose first voyage has been the source of so 
much enjoyment to us. The Imperial yacht arrived punc- 
tually at twelve o'clock, and was received by the captain 
with a full salute from his Parrott guns, fired with a prompt- 
ness and accuracy which the Emperor did not £ail to notice. 
His Majesty went over the whole steamer ; and really an 
exploring expedition over such a world in little, with its 
provision-shops, its cattle -stalls, its pantries and sculleries, 
its endless accommodations for passengers and freight, its 
variety of decks and its great central fires, deep below 
all, is no contemptible journey for a tropical morning. 
The arrangements of the vessel seemed to excite the in- 
terest and admiration both of the Emperor and his suite. 
Captain Bradbury invited his Majesty to lunch on board ; 
he very cordially accepted, and remained some time after- 
ward, conversing chiefly about scientific subjects, and es- 
pecially on matters connected with the expedition. The 
Emperor is still a young man ; but though only forty, 
he has been the reigning sovereign of Brazil for more than 
half that time, and he looks careworn and somewhat older 
than his years. He has a dignified, manly presence, a face 
rather stern in repose, but animated and genial in conversa- 
tion ; his manner is courteous and friendly to all. 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



59 



May 1st. — We celebrated May-day in a strange land, 
where May ushers in the winter, by driving to the Botanical 
Garden. When I say we, I mean usually the unprofessional 
members of the party. The scientific corps are too busily 
engaged to be with us on many of our little pleasure 
excursions. Mr. Agassiz himself is chiefly occupied in 
seeing numerous persons in official positions, whose influ- 
ence is important in matters relative to the expedition. 
He is very anxious to complete these necessary prelimi- 
naries, to despatch his various parties into the interior, and 
to begin his personal investigations. He is commended to 
be patient, however, and not to fret at delays ; for, with the 
best will in the world, the dilatory national habits cannot 
be changed. Meanwhile he has improvised a laboratory in 
a large empty room over a warehouse in the Rua Direita, 
the principal business street of the city. Here in one 
corner the ornithologists, Mr. Dexter and Mr. Allen, have 
their bench, — a rough board propped on two casks, the 
seat an empty keg ; in another, Mr. Anthony, with an 
apparatus of much the same kind, pores over his shells ; 
a dissecting-table of like carpentry occupies a conspicuous 
position ; and in the midst the Professor may generally be 
seen sitting on a barrel, for chairs there are none, assorting 
or examining specimens, or going from bench to bench to 
see how the work progresses. In the midst of the confusion 
Mr. Burkhardt has his little table, where he is making 
colored drawings of the fish as they are brought in fresh 
from the fishing-boats. In a small adjoining room Mr. 
Sceva is preparing skeletons for mounting. Every one, in 
short, has his special task and is busily at work. A very 
questionable perfume, an " ancient and fish-like smell," 
strongly tinged with alcohol, guides one to this abode of 



60 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Science, where, notwithstanding its unattractive aspect, 
Mr. Agassiz receives many visitors, curious to see the 
actual working process of a laboratory of Natural History, 
and full of interest in the expedition. Here also pour in 
specimens from all quarters and of every kind ; voluntary 
contributions, which daily swell the collections.* Those of 
the party who are not engaged here have their work else- 
where. Mr. Hartt and Mr. St. John are at various stations 
along the railroad line, making geological sections of the 
road ; several of the volunteers are collecting in the 
country, and Mr. Hunnewell is studying at a photograph- 
ic establishment, fitting himself to assist Mr. Agassiz in 
this way when we are beyond the reach of professional 
artists. 

Our excursion of to-day took us to another of those 
exquisite drives in the neighborhood of the city, always 
along the harbor or some inlet of it, always in sight of 
the mountains, always bordered by pretty country houses 
and gardens. The Botanical Garden is about eight miles 
from the centre of the town. It is beautiful, because the 
situation is admirably well chosen, and because anything 

* Among the frequent visitors at the laboratory, and one to whom Mr. 
Agassiz was indebted for most efficient aid in making his collection of fishes 
from the harbor of Rio, was our friend Dr. Pacheco de Silva, who never lost 
an opportunity of paying us all sorts of friendly attentions. He added quite 
a number of luxuries to the working-room described above. Another friend 
who was often at the laboratory was Dr. Nageli. Notwithstanding his large 
practice, he found time to assist Mr. Agassiz not only with collections but 
with drawings of various specimens. Being himself an able naturalist, his 
co-operation was very valuable. The collections were indeed enriched by 
contributions from so many sources that it would be impossible to enumerate 
them all here. In the more technical reports of the expedition all such gifts 
are recorded, with the names of those persons from whom the specimens 
were received. 




Vista down the Alley of Palms 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



61 



that calls itself a garden can hardly fail to be beautiful 
in a climate where growth is so luxuriant. But it is 
not kept with great care. Indeed, the very readiness with 
which plants respond to the least culture bestowed upon 
them here makes it very difficult to keep grounds in that 
trim order which we think so essential. This garden boasts, 
however, one feature as unique as it is beautiful, in its long 
avenue of palms, some eighty feet in height. I wish it were 
possible to give in words the faintest idea of the archi- 
tectural beauty of this colonnade of palms, with their 
green crowns meeting to form the roof. Straight, firm, 
and smooth as stone columns, a dim vision of colonnades 
in some ancient Egyptian temple rises to the imagination 
as one looks down the long vista.* 

May 6th. — Yesterday, at the invitation of our friend 
Mr. B , we ascended the famous Corcovado peak. Leav- 
ing the carriages at the terminus of the Larangeiras road, 
we made the farther ascent on horseback by a winding 
narrow path, which, though a very fair road for mountain 
travelling in ordinary weather, had been made exceedingly 
slippery by the late rains. The ride was lovely through 
the fragrant forest, with enchanting glimpses of view here 
and there, giving promise of what was before us. Occa- 
sionally a brook or a little cascade made pleasant music by 
the roadside, and when we stopped to rest our horses we 
heard the wind rustle softly in the stiff palms overhead. 
The beauty of vegetation is enhanced here by the singular 
character of the soil. The color of the earth is peculiar 
all about Rio ; of a rich warm red, it seems to glow 
beneath the mass of vines and large-leaved plants above 
it, and every now and then crops out in vivid, striking 

* The palm is the beautiful Oreodoxa oleracea. 



62 



A. JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



contrast to the surrounding verdure. Frequently our path 
followed the base of such a bank, its deep ochre and ver- 
milion tints looking all the softer for their framework 
of green. Among the larger growth, the Candelabra-tree 
(Cecropia) was conspicuous. The strangely regular struc- 
ture of the branches and its silvery-tinted foliage make it 
stand out in bold relief from the darker background. It 
is a striking feature of the forest in this neighborhood. 

A wide panoramic prospect always eludes description, but 
certainly few can combine such rare elements of beauty as 
the one from the summit of the Corcovado. The immense 
landlocked harbor, with its gateway open to the sea, the 
broad ocean beyond, the many islands, the circle of moun- 
tains with soft fleecy clouds floating about the nearer peaks, 
— all these features make a wonderful picture. One great 
charm of this landscape consists in the fact, that, though 
very extensive, it is not so distant as to deprive objects 
of their individuality. After all, a very distant view is 
something like an inventory : so many dark, green patches, 
forests ; so many lighter green patches, fields ; so many 
white spots, lakes ; so many silver threads, rivers, &c. 
But here special effects are not lost in the grandeur of 
the whole. On the extreme peak of the height a wall 
has been built around the edge, the descent on one side 
being so vertical that a false step might hurl one to instant 
destruction. At this wall we dismounted and lingered long, 
unwilling to leave the beautiful view before sunset. We 
were, however, anxious to return by daylight, and, to 
confess the truth, being a timorous and inexperienced 
rider at best, I was not without some anxiety as to the 
descent, for the latter part of the slippery road had been 
a sheer scramble. Putting a bold face on the matter, 



EIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



63 



however, I resumed my seat, trying to look as if it were 
my habit to mount horses on the tops of high mountains 
and slide down to the bottom. This is really no inaccurate 
description of our descent for the first ten minutes, after 
which we regained the more level path at the little station 
called " the Pameiras." We are told to-day that parties 
usually leave their horses at this station and ascend the 
rest of the way on foot, the road beyond that being so 
steep that it is considered unsafe for riding. However, 
we reached the plain without accident, and I look back 
upon yesterday's ride with some complacency as a first 
lesson in mountain travelling.* 

May 20th. — On Friday, the 12th of May, we left Rio on 
our first excursion of any length. A day or two after our 
arrival Mr. Agassiz had received an invitation from the 
President of the Union and Industry Company to go with 
some of his party over their road from Petropolis to Juiz 
de Fora, in the Province of Minas Geraes, a road celebrated 
not only for the beauty of its scenery, but also for its own 
excellence. A word as to the circumstances under which it 
has been built may not be amiss here ; and it must be 
confessed, that, if the Brazilians are, as they are said to 
be, slow in their progress, the improvements they do un- 
dertake are carried out with great thoroughness. It is 
true that the construction of the road has been intrusted 
to French engineers, but the leading man in its projec- 
tion and ultimate completion has been a Brazilian, Senhor 

* Leuzinger's admirable photographs of the scenery about the Corcovado, 
as well as from Petropolis, the Organ Mountains, and the neighborhood of 
"Rio generally, may now be had in the print-shops of Boston and New York. 
I am the more desirous to make this fact known as I am indebted to Mr. 
Leuzinger for very generous assistance in the illustration of scientific ob- 
jects. — L. A. 



64 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Mariano Procopio Ferreira Lage, a native of the province 
of Minas Geraes. This province is said to be remarkable 
for the great energy and intelligence of its inhabitants, 
as compared with those of the adjoining provinces. Per- 
haps this may be owing to its cooler climate, most of its 
towns lying among the highlands of the Serras, and en- 
joying a fresher, more stimulating air than those nearer 
the sea-coast. Before undertaking the building of this 
road, Senhor Lage travelled both in Europe and America 
with the purpose of learning all the modern improvements 
in works of a similar character. The result bears testimony 
to the energy and patience with which he has carried out 
his project.* Twelve years ago the only means of going 
into the interior from Petropolis was through narrow, 
dangerous, broken mule-tracks, and a journey of a hundred 
miles involved a difficult ride of three or four days. Now 
one travels from Petropolis to Juiz de Fora between sunrise 
and sunset over a post-road equal to any in the world, 
changing mules every ten or twelve miles at pretty little 
stations, built somewhat in the style of Swiss chalets, 
each one of which is a settlement for the German colonists 
who have been induced to come out as workmen on the 
road. This emigration in itself is a great advantage to 
the country ; wherever these little German villages occur, 
nestled down among the hills, there are the neat vege- 
table and flower gardens, the tidy houses, the general 
aspect of thrift and comfort, so characteristic of the better 
classes of the German peasantry. Nominally no slaves are 

* A commemorative tablet, set in the rocks on the dividing line between 
the provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes, recording the speech 
of the Emperor on the occasion of the opening of the road, testifies the 
appreciation in which this undertaking was held by the government of Brazil. 



EIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



65 



allowed on the service of the road, Portuguese and German 
workmen being chiefly employed. This is a regulation 
which applies not only here, but on other public works 
about Rio. The contracts granted by the government 
expressly exclude the employment of slaves, though un- 
fortunately this rule is not adhered to strictly, because 
for the performance of certain kinds of work no substitute 
for slave labor has yet been found. In the direct care 
of the road, however, in the repairs, for instance, re- 
quiring gangs of men who are constantly at work blasting 
rock and cracking the fragments into small pieces for the 
fresh macadamizing of any imperfect spot, mending any 
defects in the embankments or walls, &c, none but free 
labor is employed. 

This attempt to exclude slaves from the public works 
is an emancipation movement, undertaken with the idea 
of gradually limiting slave labor to agricultural processes, 
and ridding the large cities and their neighborhood of 
the presence of slavery. The subject of emancipation is 
no such political bugbear here as it has been with us. It 
is very liberally and calmly discussed by all classes ; the 
general feeling is against the institution, and it seems to 
be taken for granted that it will disappear before many 
years are over. During this very session of the Assem- 
bly one or two bills for emancipation have been brought 
forward. Even now any enterprising negro may obtain 
his freedom, and, once obtained, there is no obstacle to 
his rising in social or political station. But while from 
this point of view slavery is less absolute than it was 
with us, it has some appalling aspects. The slaves, at 
least in the cities, are literally beasts of burden. One 
sees the most cumbersome furniture, — pianos and the like, 



66 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



and the heaviest trunks or barrels, piled one on top of 
the other, or bales of sugar and coffee weighing hundreds 
of pounds, — moving about the streets on the heads of the 
negroes. The result of this is that their limbs often 
become crippled, and it is common to see negroes in the 
prime of life who are quite crooked and maimed, and 
can hardly walk without a stick to lean upon. In justice 
I must add, however, that this practice, though it shocks 
a stranger even now, is gradually disappearing. We are 
told that a few years ago there were hardly any baggage- 
wagons except these living ones, and that the habit of 
using the blacks in this way is going out of vogue. In 
this as in other matters the Emperor's opinions are those 
of an enlightened and humane man, and were his power 
equal to his will, slavery would vanish from his dominions 
at once. He is, however, too wise not to know that all 
great social changes must be gradual ; but he openly 
declares his abhorrence of the system.* 

But to return from this digression to the road of the 
Union and Industry Company. It is now completed as 
far as Juiz de Fora, affording every convenience for the 
transport of the rich harvest of coffee constantly travelling 
over it from all the fazendas in the region. As the whole 
district is very rich in coffee-plantations, the improvement 
in the means of transportation is of course very im- 
portant to the commercial interests of the country, and 

* Since this was written the Emperor, at a large pecuniary sacrifice, has 
liberated all the slaves belonging to the property of the crown, and a general 
scheme of emancipation has been announced by the Brazilian government, 
the wisdom, foresight, and benevolence of which can hardly be too highly 
praised. If this be adopted, slavery in Brazil will disappear within the 
century by a gradual process, involving no violent convulsion, and perilling 
neither the safety of the slave nor the welfare of his master. 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



67 



Senhor Lage is making practicable roads to the smallest 
settlements in his neighborhood. He has not, however, 
been free from the difficulties which men encounter whose 
schemes are in advance of their surroundings. No doubt 
a great part of the dissatisfaction is owing to the fact that 
the road is not so remunerative as was anticipated, the 
advance of the Dom Pedro Railroad having impaired its 
success. Still it must be considered as a monument to 
the public spirit and energy of the men who undertook it. 
Not wishing to interrupt the course of the narrative, I have 
thought it best to preface the story of our journey by some 
account of this road, the building of which is a significant 
fact in the present history of Brazil. I will now take up 
again the thread of our personal adventures. 

Leaving the city at two o'clock in the ferry-boat, we 
kept up the harbor some fifteen miles. There was a cool 
breeze, and the day, though warm, was not oppressive.. 
Passing the large Ilha do Governador, the smaller but 
exceedingly pretty island of Paqueta, and many others, 
with their palms, banana and acacia trees, dotting the 
harbor of Rio and adding another grace to its beauty, 
we landed in about an hour and a quarter at the little 
town of Maua.* Here we took the cars, and an hour's 
ride through low and marshy grounds brought us to the 
fcot of the Serra QRaiz da Serra), where we left the rail- 
road for the post-coach, which runs regularly from this 
station. The drive was delightful, in an open diligence 
drawn by four mules on the full gallop over a road as 
smooth as a floor. It wound zigzag up the mountains, 

* To the Baron de Maua, a leader in the great improvements now going on 
in Brazil, the citizens of Rio de Janeiro owe their present convenient road to 
Fetropolis, their favorite summer residence. 



68 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



through the wildest scenery, while below us lay the valley 
broken into a billowy sea of green hills, and the harbor 
with the coast range beyond, growing soft and mellow 
in the afternoon sunshine. To complete the picture, one 
must clothe it in palms and acacias and tree-ferns, and 
drape it in a tangle of parasitic growth, with abundant 
bloom of the purple Quaresma (Flower of Lent),* the 
Thunbergia vine, with its little straw-colored blossoms 
creeping over every wall and shrub, and the blue and 
yellow Bignonias. We are constantly astonished at the 
variety of palms. A palm is , such a rarity in our hot- 
houses, that we easily forget how numerous and varied 
they are in their native forests. We have the scarlet-oak, 
the white-oak, the scrub-oak, the chestnut-oak, the swamp- 
oak, and many others. And so in the tropical forest there 
is the cocoanut-palm, with its swollen, bulb-like stem when 
young, its tall, straight trunk when full grown, its cluster 
of heavy fruit, and its long, plume-like, drooping flower ; f 
the Coccoeiro, with its slighter trunk and pendant branch- 
es of small berry-like fruit ; the Palmetto, with its tender 
succulent bud on the summit of the stem, which is used 
as a vegetable here, and makes an excellent substitute 
for cabbage ; the thorny Icaree or Cari, a variety of fan- 
palms, with their leaves cut like ribbons ; and very many 
others, each with its characteristic foliage and appearance 4 

* A species of Melastoma, with very large, conspicuous flowers. — L. A. 
t This is not, however, native to Brazil. 

J Indeed, their diversity is much greater even than that of our Oaks, and it 
would require a comprehensive comparison with a majority of our forest-trees 
to match the differences they exhibit among themselves ; and their native 
names, far more euphonic than the systematic names under which they are 
entered in our scientific works, are as familiar to the Indians as those of our 
beeches, birches, hazels, chestnuts, poplars, or willows to our farmers. There 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



69 



The mountains along the road, as indeed throughout the 
neighborhood of Rio, are of very peculiar forms, steep and 
conical, suggesting at first sight a volcanic origin. It is this 
abruptness of outline which gives so much grandeur to 
mountain ranges here, the average height of which does 
not exceed two or three thousand feet. A closer examina- 
tion of their structure shows that their wild, fantastic forms 
are the result of the slow processes of disintegration, not 
of sudden convulsions. Indeed, the rocks here differ so 
much in external character from those of the Northern 
Hemisphere, that the European geologist stands at first 
bewildered before them, and feels that the work of his 
life is to be done over again. It is some time before he 
obtains a clew to the facts and brings them into harmony 
with his previous knowledge. Thus far Mr. Agassiz finds 
himself painfully perplexed by this new aspect of phenome- 
na so familiar to him in other regions, but so baffling here. 

are four essentially different forms among the palms : the tall ones, with a 
slender and erect stem, terminating with a crown of long feathery leaves, 
or with broad fan-shaped leaves ; the bushy ones, the leaves of which rise 
as it were in tufts from the ground, the stem remaining hidden under the 
foliage ; the brush-like ones, with a small stem, and a few rather large leaves ; 
and the winding, creeping, slender species. Their flowers and fruits are as 
varied as their stock. Some of these fruits may be compared to large woody 
nuts, with a fleshy mass inside; others have a scaly covering; others resemble 
peaches or apricots, while others still are like plums or grapes. Most of them 
are eatable and rather pleasant to the taste. It is a thousand pities that so 
many of these majestic trees should have been deprived of their sonorous native 
names, to bear henceforth, in the annals of science, the names of some unknown 
princes, whom flattery alone could rescue from oblivion. The Inaja has become 
a Maximiliana, the Jara a Leopoldinia, the Pupunha a Guilielma, the Pachiuba 
an Iriartea, the Carana a Mauritia. The changes from Indian to Greek names 
have not been more felicitous. I would certainly have preferred Jacitara to 
Desmonchus, Mucaja to Acrocomia, Baccaba to CEnocarpus, Tucuma to 
Astrocaryum. Even Euterpe for Assai is hardly an improvement. — L. A. 



70 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



He comes upon a rock, for instance, or a rounded elevation 
which by its outline he would suppose to be a " roche mou- 
tonnee," but approaching it more nearly he finds a decom- 
posed crust instead of a glaciated surface. It is the same 
with the loose materials corresponding to the drift of the 
Northern hemisphere, and with all boulders or detached 
masses of rock ; on account of their disintegration wher- 
ever they are exposed to the atmosphere, nothing is to 
be learned from their external appearance. There is not 
a natural surface of rock, unless recently broken, to be 
found anywhere. 

The sun had set before we drove into the pretty town 
of Petropolis, the summer paradise of all Rio Janeirans 
whose circumstances enable them to leave the heat and 
dirt and vile smells of the city, for the pure air and 
enchanting views of the Serra. In a central position 
stands the summer palace of the Emperor, a far gayer 
and more cheerful-looking edifice than the palace at San 
Christovao. Here he passes six months of the year. 
Through the midst of the town runs the pretty river 
Piabanha, a shallow stream, now rippling along in the 
bottom of its bed between high green banks ; but we 
were told that a night of rain in the hot season is enough 
to swell its waters till they overflow and flood the road. I 
could not but think how easy it would be for any one who 
cares to see tropical scenery to come here, when the direct 
line of steamers from New York is established, and, instead 
of going to Newport or Nahant, to take a house in Petropo- 
lis for the summer. It commands all the most beautiful 
scenery about Bio, and the horseback rides are without 
end. During our summer the weather is delightful here, 
just admitting a semblance of wood-fire morning and even- 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



71 



ing, while the orange orchards are golden with fruit, and 
flowers are everywhere. We had little time to become 
acquainted with the beauty of the place, which we hope to 
explore more at our leisure on some future visit, for sunrise 
the next morning saw us on our road again. The soft 
clouds hanging over the tops of the mountains were just 
tinged with the first rays of the sun when we drove out 
of the town on the top of the diligence, the mules at 
full gallop, the guard sounding a gay reveille as we rattled 
over the little bridge and past the pretty houses where 
closed windows and doors showed that the inhabitants were 
hardly yet astir. 

The first part of our road lay through the lovely valley of 
the Piabanha, the river whose acquaintance we had already 
made in Petropolis, and which accompanied us for the first 
forty or fifty miles of our journey, sometimes a restless 
stream broken into rapids and cascades, sometimes spread- 
ing into a broad, placid river, but always enclosed between 
mountains rising occasionally to the height of a few thou- 
sand feet, lifting here and there a bare rocky face seamed 
with a thousand scars of time and studded with Bromelias 
and Orchids, but more often clothed with all the glory of 
the Southern forest, or covered from base to summit with 
coffee shrubs. A thriving coffee plantation is a very pretty 
sight ; the rounded, regular outline of the shrubs gives a 
tufted look to the hillside on which they grow, and their 
glittering foliage contrasts strikingly at this season with 
their bright red berries. One often passes coffee planta- 
tions, however, which look ragged and thin ; in this case 
the trees are either suffering from the peculiar insect so 
injurious to them, (a kind of Tinea,) or have run out 
and become exhausted. As we drove along, the scenes 



72 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



upon the road were often as amusing as they were pic- 
turesque. Now we came upon a troop of pack mules 
with a tropeiro (driver) at their head ; if a large troop, 
they were divided into companies of eight, with a man 
to guide each company. The guard wound his horn to 
give warning of our coming, and a general struggle, gar- 
nished with kicks, oaths, and many lashes, ensued, to 
induce the mules to make way for the coach. These 
troops of mules are beginning to disappear from the sea- 
board since the modern improvements in railroads and 
stage lines, making transportation so much easier ; but 
until lately it was the only way of bringing down the 
produce from the interior. Or again we fell in with a 
line of country wagons made of plaited bamboo, a kind of 
fabric which is put to a variety of uses here, such as the 
building of fences and lining of ceilings or roofs, as well 
as the construction of carts. Here and there the laborers 
were sitting in groups at the roadside, their work suspended 
while they cooked their midday meal, their kettles hanging 
over the fire, their coffee-pot simmering over the coals, 
and they themselves lying about in gypsy-like freedom 
of attitude. 

At Posse, the third stage of our road, after having 
gone some thirty miles, we also stopped to breakfast, a 
meal which was by no means unacceptable after our three 
hours' ride. It is an almost universal custom with the 
Brazilians, especially when travelling, to take their cup of 
black coffee on rising, and defer their more solid break- 
fast till ten or eleven o'clock. I do not know whether 
my readers will sympathize with me, but I am always dis- 
appointed myself if any book of travels, having led me 
along the weary road, does not tell me what the hungry 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



73 



wanderers had to eat. It seems hardly fair, having shared 
their fatigues, that I should not also share their refresh- 
ment and be invited to sit down at table with them. 
Doing, therefore, as I would be done by, I shall give 
our bill of fare, and take an opportunity of saying a word 
at the same time of the characteristic Brazilian dishes. 
In the first place we had black beans stewed with came 
secca (dried meat), the invariable accompaniment of every 
meal in Brazil, There is no house so poor that it does 
not have its feijoes, no house so rich as to exclude this 
homely but most excellent dish, a favorite alike with high 
and low. Then there was chicken stewed with potatoes 
and rice, almost as marked a feature of the Brazilian 
cuisine as the black beans. Beside these, there were eggs 
served in various ways, cold meat, wine, coffee, and bread. 
Vegetables seem to be rare, though one would expect a 
plentiful variety in this climate.* At Posse Mr. Agassiz 
found a cordial co-operator in Mr. Charles Taylor, who 
expressed a warm interest in his scientific researches, and 
kept one of the collecting cans that he might fill it with 
fishes from the neighboring rivers and streams. f 

Our kind friend Senhor Joao Baptista da Fonseca, 
who was our guide and our host on this journey, had 
neglected nothing which could contribute to the success 

* This observation was confirmed by our year's travel. The Brazilians care 
little for a variety of vegetables, and do not give much attention to their culti- 
vation. Those they do use are chiefly imported in cans from Europe. 

t On our return from the Amazons a year later we heard with great regret 
of the death of Mr. Taylor For many months he took an active part in the 
objects of the Expedition, being himself a good naturalist, and not only made 
valuable collections for Mr. Agassiz, but also some admirable colored draw- 
ings of fishes and insects, which it is hoped may be published at a future time 
with the other scientific results of this journey. 
4 



74 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



and pleasure of the party, and had so prepared the way 
for the scientific objects of the excursion that at several 
points of the road we found collections of fishes and other 
animals awaiting us by the roadside. Once or twice, as we 
passed a fazenda, a negro carrying a basket came out to 
stop the diligence, and, lifting the cool green leaves which x 
covered them, showed freshly caught fishes of all hues and 
sizes. It was rather aggravating, especially as we ap- 
proached the end of our long drive, and the idea of 
dinner readily suggested itself, to see them disappear in 
the alcohol cans.* 

At about midday we bade good by to the pretty river we 
had followed thus far, and at the Estacao d'Entre Bios 
(between the rivers) crossed the fine bridge which spans 
the Parahyba at this point. The Parahyba is the large 
river which flows for a great part of its course between 
the Serra do Mar and the Serra da Mantiqueira, emptying 
into the Atlantic at San Joao da Barra considerably to the 
northeast of Rio de Janeiro. One is a little bewildered 
at first by the variety of Serras in Brazil, because the 

* My experience of this day might well awaken the envy of any naturalist, 
and I was myself no less astonished than grateful for its scientific results. 
Not only had Senhor Lage provided us with the most comfortable private con- 
veyance, but he had sent messengers in advance to all the planters residing 
near our line of travel, requesting them to provide all the fishes that were to be 
had in the adjoining rivers and brooks. The agents of the stations situated 
near water-courses had also received instructions to have similar collections in 
readiness, and in two places I found large tanks filled with living specimens of 
all the species in the neighborhood. The small number of species subsequently 
added, upon repeated excursions to different parts of the basin of the Parahyba, 
convinced me that in this one day, thanks to the kindness of our host and his 
friends, I had an opportunity of examining nearly its whole ichthyological 
fauna, and of making probably as complete a collection from it as may be 
found from any of the considerable rivers of Europe in the larger museums 
of the Old World. — L. A. 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



75 



word is used to express not only important chains of 
mountains, but all their spurs. Any mountainous eleva- 
tion is a Serra ; but though there is an endless number of 
them between the Serra do Mar and the Serra da Manti- 
queira, these are the two most important chains, running 
parallel with the sea-coast. Between them flows the Para- 
hyba with its many branches. It is important to make col- 
lections here, as the peculiar character of this water basin, 
the many tributaries of which drain the southern water- 
shed of the Serra da Mantiqueira, and the northern water- 
shed of the Serra do Mar, make it of especial interest 
for the naturalist. On account of its neighborhood to 
the sea, it is also desirable to compare its inhabitants 
with those of the many short, disconnected rivers which 
empty into the Atlantic on the other side of the coast 
range. In short, it gives a good opportunity for testing 
those questions of the geographical distribution of living 
beings, as connected with their origin, which Mr. Agassiz 
so strongly urged upon his assistants during our voyage. 

Soon after crossing the Parahyba, the road strikes the 
Parahybuna, a tributary which enters the main river on 
its northern side, nearly opposite the Piabanha. The latter 
part of the journey is less wild than the first half; the 
mountains fall away in somewhat gentler slopes, and do 
not shut in the road with the steep rugged precipices so 
striking in the valley of the Piabanha. But though perhaps 
less picturesque on approaching Juiz de Fora,* the scenery 
is beautiful enough throughout the whole ride to satisfy 
the most fastidious and keep the attention constantly awake. 
We arrived at the end of our journey at about six o'clock, 
and found most comfortable accommodations prepared for 

* In some maps this place is inscribed under the name of Parahybuna. 



76 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



us at a little cottage, built somewhat in the style of a 
Swiss chalet, and kept by the company for the use of 
their guests or for the directors of the road. An excellent 
dinner awaited us at the little hotel just opposite, the door 
of which is shaded by two stately palms ; and with a ramble 
in the neighboring grounds of Senhor Lage, and a concert 
by a band of German musicians, consisting of employees on 
the road, our day closed, — a day full of pleasure. 

The following morning we were indebted to Senhor Lage 
for a walk, as instructive as it was charming, through his 
gardens and orange orchards. Not only has he arranged his 
grounds with exquisite taste, but has endeavored to bring 
together the shrubs and trees most characteristic of the 
country, so that a stroll through his place is a valuable 
lesson to the botanist, the more so if he is fortunate enough 
to have the proprietor as a companion, for he may then 
learn the name and history of every tree and flower he 
passes. Such a guide is invaluable here, for the Brazilians 
seem to remain in blissful ignorance of systematic nomen- 
clature ; to most of them all flowers are "flores," all 
animals, from a fly up to a mule or an elephant, "bixos." 
One of the most beautiful features of Senhor Lage's 
grounds is a plantation of parasites, — an extensive walk, 
bordered on either side by a rustic fence, over which are 
trained some of the most exquisite parasitic plants of the 
Brazilian forests. In the midst of this walk is the Grotto 
of the Princesses, so called after the daughters of the Em- 
peror who, on occasion of a visit made by the Imperial 
family to Juiz de Fora, at the opening of the road, were 
exceedingly pleased with this pretty spot, where a spring all 
overhung with parasitic vines, Orchids, &c. flows out from 
the rock. The spring, however, is artificial, and is a part 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



77 



of the admirable system of irrigation introduced over the 
whole estate. So rapid is the growth of everything here 
that one can hardly believe this beautiful country place to 
have been under cultivation only five or six years ; a few 
years more under the same direction will make it a tropi- 
cal paradise. 

A variety of plans combining pleasure and science had 
been arranged for the next day. First on the list was a 
drive to the " Forest of the Empress." Everything of any 
interest in the neighborhood recalls the visit of the Im- 
perial family at the opening of the road. From this event 
all loyal Juiz de Forans date, and the virgin forest we were 
to visit is consecrated by the fact that on this great occasion 
the Emperor with his family and suite breakfasted here in 
presence of a numerous assemblage of their loving subjects. 
Surely a more stately banqueting-hall could scarcely be 
found. The throne was cut in the broad buttressed trunk 
of a huge figueira ; the rustic table, built of rough stems, 
stood under the shadow of great palm-trees ; and around 
was the tropical forest, tapestried with vines, and embroi- 
dered with Orchids. These were royal accompaniments, 
even though the whole entertainment was conducted with 
a simplicity in harmony with the scene. Neither gold nor 
silver nor glass was brought to vie with the beauties 
of nature ; the drinking-cups were made from the hollow 
stems of the wild bamboo-tree, and all the service was 
of the same rustic description. The tables, seats, &c. 
stand, undisturbed, as they were on that day, and of course 
this spot remains a favorite resort for humbler picnics than 
the one by which it was inaugurated. We wandered about 
for some time in the cool shade of the wood, lunched under 
the rustling palms, and then drove homeward, stopping for a 



78 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



while by the side of the river, where a pretty cascade rushes 
over the stones, and a rustic house built for the same 
memorable occurrence makes a pleasant resting-place. In 
the afternoon a heavy rain kept us within doors, but we 
were not sorry, for we were in danger of having a surfeit 
of pleasure, and quiet was very grateful. 

A great part of our last day at Juiz de Fora was spent 
at the hospitable house of Mr. Halfeld, the German en- 
gineer who has gained an honorable distinction by his 
explorations in the interior. His work on the Rio San 
Francisco was well known to Mr. Agassiz, so that they 
found themselves at once on familiar ground, and Mr. 
Halfeld was able to give him a great deal of valuable 
information respecting the prospects of the present expe- 
dition, especially that department of it which will go to 
the Amazons by way of the Rio San Francisco and the 
Tocantins. He has also an interesting collection of objects 
of natural history, and cordially offered his assistance in 
obtaining the fishes of the neighborhood. As for the 
collections, they had been going on famously during our 
whole visit. We had hardly been in Juiz de Fora twenty- 
four hours before a dozen collectors were actively at work. 
All the urchins of the neighborhood and many of the 
Germans employed on the road lent a helping hand. 
Even the ladies did their full share, and Mr. Agassiz 

was indebted to our friend Mrs. K for some of the 

most interesting specimens from this locality. No doubt 
such as were left of the " bixos " of Juiz de Fora must 
have congratulated themselves on our departure the follow- 
ing morning. 

We enjoyed our return over the same road scarcely less 
than our first introduction to it ; but the latter part of 



RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



79 



the day was full of an interest which touched us more 
nearly. At Posse, where we had breakfasted on our way 
up, Mr. Taylor welcomed us with a Portuguese paper 
containing a bulletin announcing the great victories of 
the North. Petersburg and Richmond taken, — Lee in 
full retreat, — the war virtually over. This was the sub- 
stance of the news received with delight and acclamation, 
not without tears of gratitude also, and we went on our 
way rejoicing. As we drove up to the Hotel Inglez after 
dark that evening, hoping to get a glimpse of an American 
paper, or at least to have the good news confirmed through 
the American Minister, General Webb, whose residence is 
at Petropolis, we were greeted by the announcement of the 
assassination of Lincoln and Seward, both believed at 
this time to be dead. At first it seemed absolutely in- 
credible, and the more sanguine among us persisted in 
regarding it as a gigantic street rumor, invented perhaps 
by Secession sympathizers, till on our return to town the 
next morning our worst fears were confirmed by the French 
steamer just arrived. The days seemed very long till the 
next mail, which reassured us somewhat, as it brought 
the news of Mr. Seward's probable recovery and strength- 
ened our faith in the stability of the national character. 
All the accounts, public and private, assure us that, though 
there is mourning throughout the land, there is no dis- 
turbance of the general regularity and order. 



80 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTER III. 

LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. — FAZENDA LIFE. 

Botafogo. — Insane Hospital. — Tijuca. — Erratic Drift. — Vegetation. 

— Birthday Dinner. — Arrangements for Parties to the Interior. — 
Public Lectures in Rio — Procession of St. George. — Leave Rio on 
Excursion to the Fortaleza de Santa Anna. — Localities for Erratic 
Drift between Rio and Petropolis. — Departure from Juiz de Fora. — 
Arrival at the Fazenda. — Ride in the Forest. — Eve of San Joao. 

— Cupim Nests. — Excursion to the Upper Fazenda — Grand Hunt. — 
Picnic. — Coffee Plantation. — Return to Rio. — Mimic Snow-Fields. 

— Coffee Insect spinning its Nest. — Visit to the Fazenda of Com- 
mendador Breves. — Botanizing Excursion to Tijuca. — Preparations 
for leaving rlo. — major coutinho. — collegio dom pedro segundo. 

May 22d. — This afternoon Dr. and Mrs. C and 

myself went out for a country ramble, somewhat at a 
venture, it is true, but feeling sure that in the beautiful 
scenery about Rio we could hardly go amiss. We took 
one of the many ferry-boats in the neighborhood of our 
hotel, and presently found ourselves on the way to Botafogo. 
Almost all the environs of the city are built along beaches ; 
there is the beach or Praia of Botafogo, the Praia of San 
Christovao, the Praia of San Domingo, and half a dozen 
others, all of which mean some suburb of the town situated 
on the shore with a beach in front of it. As it is rather the 
fashion for the better class of people to live out of town, the 
houses and gardens in these suburbs are often delightful. 
We enjoyed the sail exceedingly. For a part of the way 
the boat keeps close under the mountains, and no descrip- 
tion can give an idea of their picturesque outlines, or of 
the wonderful coloring which softens all their asperities 
and mellows the whole landscape. We landed at a jetty 



LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. 



81 



thrown out from a romantic-looking road, and as we found 
no carriage on the wharf, and ascertained that the boat did 
not return for two hours, we wandered up this road to see 
where chance would lead us. The afternoon would have 
been full of interest had it ended in the walk along the 
crescent-shaped bay, with the water rippling on the sands, 
and the mountains opposite all purple in the afternoon 
sunshine. The road brough#=*fts, however, to a magnifi- 
cent hospital for the insai^j^fe hospital of Dom Pedro Se- 
gundo, which we had seen and^dmired from the deck of 
the steamer on the day of ouir arrival. We entered the 
grounds, and as the great doorj of the building was open 
and the official on guard looked by no means forbidding, 
we ascended the steps and went hi. It is difficult to 
imagine an edifice more appropriate for the purpose to 
which it is devoted. It is true we saw only the public 
rooms and corridors, as ar perrAit |ras required to enter 
the wards ; but a plan hanging near the entrance gave 
us an idea of the arrangement of ? the building, and its 
general aspect bore testimony to the cleanliness, cheerful- 
ness, and order of the establishment. Some of the public 
rooms were very handsome, — especially one, at the end 
of which stands a statue of the boy Emperor, taken, 
no doubt, at the time of his coronation. In the man of 
forty you still recognize the frank, intelligent, manly face 
of the lad on whom such great responsibility was thrown 
at the age of fifteen. As we went up the spacious stair- 
case, the sound of rhusic brought us to the door of the 
chapel, where the evening service was going on. Patients 
and nurses were kneeling together ; a choir of female 
voices was singing sweetly ar^calm, peaceful kind of 
music ; that somewhat monotonous chanting, so passion- 

4 * F 



V 



82 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



less in its regular movement, which one hears in the 
Catholic Church ; the candles were burning before the 
altar, but the great window just outside the door was open 
to the setting sun, and, as I stood in the balcony looking 
out on the mountains and listening to the music, I thought 
that a mind which had gone astray might find its way back 
again in such scenes and under such influences. Certainly, 
if nature has any healing power, it must be felt here. We 
lingered and listened as long as we dared, and stole away as 
the services were closing, just in time to take the evening 
boat. 

May 25th. — The fish-market is, in all seaport towns, a 
favorite haunt with Mr. Agassiz, and here it has an especial 
interest for him on account of the variety and beauty of the 
fishes brought in every morning. I sometimes accompany 
him in these rambles for the pleasure of seeing the fresh 
loads of oranges, flowers, and vegetables, and of watch- 
ing the picturesque negro groups selling their wares or 
sitting about in knots to gossip. We have already learned 
that the fine-looking athletic negroes of a nobler type, at 
least physically, than any we see in the States, are the 
so-called Mina negroes, from the province of Mina, in 
Western Africa. They are a very powerful-looking race, 
and the women especially are finely made and have quite 
a dignified presence. I am never tired of watching them 
in the street and market, where they are to be seen in 
numbers, being more commonly employed as venders of 
fruit and vegetables than as house-servants. It is said that 
a certain wild and independent element in their character 
makes them unfit for domestic service. The women always 
wear a high muslin turban, and a long, bright-colored snawl, 
either crossed on the breast and thrown carelessly over the 



LIFE IN EIO CONTINUED. 



88 




Mina Negress. 



shoulder, or, if the day be chilly, drawn closely around 
them, their arms hidden in its folds. The amount of ex- 
pression they throw into the use of this shawl is quite 
amazing. I watched a tall, superbly made woman in the 
street to-day who was in a great passion. Gesticulating vio- 
lently, she flung her shawl wide, throwing out both arms, 
then, drawing it suddenly in, folded it about her, and 
stretched herself to her full height ; presently opening it 
once more, she shook her fist in the face of her opponent. 



84 



A JOUKNEY IN BRAZIL. 




Mina Negress and Child. 

and then, casting one end of her long drapery over her 
shoulder, stalked away with the air of a tragedy queen. 
It serves as a cradle also, for, tying it loosely round their 
hips, they slip the baby into the folds behind, and there 
it hangs, rocked to sleep by the mother's movement as she 
walks on with her long, swinging tread. The Mina ne- 
gress is almost invariably remarkable for her beautiful 
hand and arm. She seems to be conscious of this, and 
usually wears close-fitting bracelets at the wrist, made of 



LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. 



85 



some bright-colored beads, which set off the form of the 
hand and are exceedingly becoming on her dark, shining 
skin. These negroes are Mohammedans, and are said to 
remain faithful to their prophet, though surrounded by the 
observances of the Catholic Church. They do not seem 
to me so affable and responsive as the Congo negroes, but 
are, on the contrary, rather haughty. One morning I came 
upon a cluster of them in the market breakfasting after 
their work was done, and I stopped to talk with them, ask- 
ing what they had for breakfast, and trying various subjects 
on which to open an acquaintance. But they looked at 
me coldlj and suspiciously, barely answering my questions, 
and were evidently relieved when I walked away. 

May 26th. — Tijuca. In the pleasant environs of Rio 
there is no resort more frequented than the establishment 
of Mr. Bennett at Tijuca, and we were not sorry the day 
before yesterday to leave the hot, dusty city, with a pleasant 
party of friends, for this cluster of mountains, some eigh- 
teen hundred feet above the sea level and about eight miles 
from Rio. It takes its name from the peak of Tijuca, so 
conspicuous an object in the coast range. On our arrival 
we were very cordially welcomed by our host himself, who 
was not quite a stranger to us, for Mr. Agassiz has been 
already indebted to him for valuable collections. Mr. Ben- 
nett has an Englishman's love of nature, and is very fa- 
miliar with the botany and zoology of the beautiful region 
which has been his home for many years. Under his guid- 
ance, we have taken a number of pleasant rambles and 
rides, regretting only that we cannot avail ourselves for a 
longer time of his intimate knowledge of the locality and 
its productions. 

I have alluded before to the perplexing character of the 



86 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



geology, and the almost universal decomposition of the 
rock surfaces, making it difficult to decipher them. The 
presence of the drift phenomena, so universal in the North- 
ern hemisphere, has been denied here ; but, in his long 
walk to-day, Mr. Agassiz has had an opportunity of ob- 
serving a great number of erratic boulders, having no 
connection with the rocks in place, and also a sheet of 
drift studded with boulders and resting above the partially 
stratified metamorphic rock in immediate contact with it. 
I introduce here a letter written by him to his friend, 
Professor Peirce of Harvard University, under the first 
impression of the day's experience, which will best explain 
his view of the subject. 

" May 27th, 1865, Tijuca. 

" My dear Peirce : — 
"Yesterday was one of the happiest days of my life, and 
I want to share it with you. Here I am at Tijuca, a clus- 
ter of hills, about eighteen hundred feet high and some 
seven or eight miles from Rio, in a charming cottage-like 
hotel, from the terrace of which you see a drift hill with 
innumerable erratic boulders, as characteristic as any I 
have ever seen in New England. I had before seen sundry 
unmistakable traces of drift, but there was everywhere con- 
nected with the drift itself such an amount of decomposed 
rocks of various kinds, that, though I could see the drift and 
distinguish it from the decomposed primary rocks in place, 
on account of my familiarity with that kind of deposits, yet 
I could probably never have satisfied anybody else that there 
is here an equivalent of the Northern drift, had I not found 
yesterday, near Bennett's hotel at Tijuca, the most palpable 
superposition of drift and decomposed rocks, with a distinct 
line of demarcation between the two, of which I shall secure 



LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. 



87 



a good photograph. This locality afforded me at once an 
opportunity of contrasting the decomposed rocks which 
form a characteristic feature of the whole country (as far 
as I have yet seen it) with the superincumbent drift, and 
of making myself familiar with the peculiarities of both 
deposits ; so that I trust I shall be able hereafter to dis- 
tinguish both, whether they are in contact with one another 
or found separately. These decomposed rocks are quite a 
new feature to me in the structure of the country. Imagine 
granite, gneiss, mica slate, clay slate, and in fact all the 
various kinds of rocks usually found in old metamorphic 
formations, reduced to the condition of a soft paste, ex- 
hibiting all the mineralogical elements of the rocks, as 
they may have been before they were decomposed, but 
now completely disintegrated and resting side by side, as 
if they had been accumulated artificially in the manner 
you have seen glass cylinders filled with variously colored 
sands or clays to imitate the appearance of the beds of 
Gay-Head. And through this loose mass there run, here 
and there, larger or smaller dikes of quartz-rock or of 
granite or other rocks equally disintegrated ; but they 
retain the arrangement of their materials, showing them 
to be disintegrated dikes in large disintegrated masses of 
rock ; the whole passing unmistakably to rocks of the 
same kind in which the decomposition or disintegration 
is only partial, or no trace of it visible, and the whole 
mass exhibiting then the appearance of an ordinary meta- 
morphic set of rocks. 

" That such masses forming everywhere the surface of the 
country should be a great obstacle to the study of the 
erratic phenomena is at once plain, and I do not therefore 
wonder that those who seem familiar with the country 



88 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



should now entertain the idea that the surface rocks are 
everywhere decomposed, and that there is no erratic forma- 
tion or drift here. But upon close examination it is easy 
to perceive that, while the decomposed rocks consist of 
small particles of the primitive rocks which they represent, 
with their dikes and all other characteristic features, there 
is not a trace of larger or smaller boulders in them ; while 
the superincumbent drift, consisting of a similar paste, 
does not show the slightest sign of the indistinct stratifica- 
tion characteristic of the decomposed metamorphic rocks 
below it, nor any of the decomposed dikes, but is full of 
various kinds of boulders of various dimensions. I have 
not yet traced the boulders to their origin ; but the majority 
consist of a kind of greenstone composed of equal amounts 
of a greenish black hornblende and feldspar. In Entre 
Rios on the Parahyba, I was told by an engineer on the 
road that in Minas Geraes iron mines are worked in a 
rock like these boulders. This week I propose to explore 
the Serra da Mantiqueira,* which separates the province 
of Rio from Minas, and may advance the question further. 
But you see that I need not go to the Andes to find 
erratics, though it may yet be necessary for me to go, 
in order to trace the evidence of glacier action in the 
accumulation of this drift ; for you will notice that I 
have only given you the evidence of extensive accumu- 
lations of drift similar in its characteristics to Northern 
drift. But I have not yet seen a trace of glacial action 
properly speaking, if polished surfaces and scratches and 
furrows are especially to be considered as such. 

" The decomposition of the surface rocks to the extent 
to which it takes place here is very remarkable, and points 

* Mr. Agassiz was prevented from making this excursion. 



LIFE IN EIO CONTINUED. 



89 



to a new geological agency, thus far not discussed in oar 
geological theories. It is obvious here (and to-day with 
the pouring rain which keeps me in doors I have satis- 
factory evidence of it) that the warm rains falling upon the 
heated soil must have a very powerful action in accelerating 
the decomposition of rocks. It is like torrents of hot water 
falling for ages in succession upon hot stones. Think of 
the effect, and, instead of wondering at the large amount 
of decomposed rocks which you meet everywhere, you will 
be surprised that there are any rocks left in their primitive 
condition. It is, however, the fact, that all the rocks you 
see are encased, as it were, in a lining of the decomposed 
part of their surface ; they are actually covered with a 
rotten crust of their own substance. 

" Ever truly yours, 

" L. Agassiz." 

Among the objects of special interest which we have 
seen here for the first time are the colossal fruits of the 
Sapucaia-tree, a species of Lecythis, belonging to the same 
family as the Brazilian nuts. These fruits, of which there 
are a number of species, vary from the size of an apple to 
that of an ordinary melon ; they resemble an urn closed 
with a lid, and contain about fifty seeds as large as almonds. 
The woods all over these Tijuca hills are beautiful and 
wonderfully luxuriant ; but I lack names for the various 
trees. We are not yet familiar enough with the aspect 
of the forest to distinguish readily its different forms of 
vegetation ; and it is besides exceedingly difficult here to 
ascertain the common names of plants. The Brazilians do 
not seem to me observant of nature in its details ; at all 
events, I never get a satisfactory answer to the question I 



90 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



am constantly putting, "What do you call this tree or 
flower ? " And if you ask a botanist, he invariably gives 
you the scientific, not the popular name, nor does he seem 
to be aware that any such exists. I have a due respect for 
nomenclature, but when I inquire the name of some very 
graceful tree or some exquisite flower, I like to receive a 
manageable answer, something that may fitly be introduced 
into the privacy of domestic life, rather than the ponderous 
official Latin appellation. We are struck with the variety 
of Melastomas in full flower now, and very conspicuous, 
from their large purple blossoms, and have remarked also 
several species of the Bombaceae, easily distinguished by 
their peculiar foliage and large cotton fruits. The Cande- 
labra-tree (Cecropia) is abundant here, as throughout the 
neighborhood of Rio, and is covered at this season with 
fruit resembling somewhat the fruit of the bread-tree, but 
more slender and cylindrical in form. Large Euphorbias, 
of the size of forest-trees, also attract our attention, for 
it is the first time we have seen them except as shrubs, 
such as the " Estrella do Norte" (Poinsettia) . But there 
is before Mr. Bennett's house a very large nut-tree, " No- 
gueira," of this family. The palms are numerous ; among 
them the Astrocaryum Cari, whose spiny stems and leaves 
make it difficult to approach, is very common. Its bunches 
of bright chestnut-brown fruit hang from between the leaves 
which form its crown, each bunch about a foot in length, 
massive and compact, like a large cluster of black Hamburg 
grapes. The Syagrus palm is also frequent ; it has a 
greenish fruit not unlike the olive in appearance, also 
hanging in large pendent bunches just below the leaves. 
The mass of foliage is everywhere knit together by parasitic 
vines without number, and every dead branch or fallen 



LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. 



91 



trunk is overgrown by parasites. Foreign tropical trees 
are cultivated about the houses everywhere, — bread-fruit 




Fallen Trunk overgrown by Parasites. 



trees and Ameixas, a kind of plum of the hawthorn family, 
bananas, etc. The bamboo of the East Indies also is used 
to form avenues in Rio de Janeiro and its environs. The 
alleys of bamboo in the grounds of the palace at San Chris- 
tovao are among its most beautiful ornaments. 

Mr. Agassiz has been surprised to find that shrimps of 
considerable size are common in all the brooks and even 
in the highest pools of Tijuca. It seems strange to meet 
with Crustacea of marine forms in mountain streams. 

To-day we are kept in the house by a violent rain, but 
there is enough to do in looking over specimens, working 
up journals, writing letters, &c, to prevent the time from 
hanging heavy on our hands. To-morrow we return to 
town. 



92 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL 



May 28th, Rio. — To-day is Mr. Agassiz's birthday, 
and it has been so affectionately remembered here that it 
is difficult to believe ourselves in a foreign country. The 
Swiss citizens gave him a dinner yesterday on the eve 
of the anniversary, where everything recalled the land of 
his birth, without excluding the land of his adoption. The 
room was draped with the flags of all the Cantons, while 
the ceiling was covered by two Swiss national flags, united 
in the centre just above his own seat by the American flag, 
thus recognizing at once his Swiss nationality and his Ameri- 
can citizenship.* The Brazilian flag which gave them all 
hospitality and protection had also an honored place. The 
fete is reported to have been most genial and gay, closing 
with a number of student songs in whioh all bore their 
share, and succeeded by a serenade under our windows. 
To-day our room is festive with flowers and other deco- 
rations, and friendly greetings on every siie remind us that, 
though in a foreign land, we are not among strangers. 

June 14:th. — Since our return from Tijuca we have been 
almost constantly in town, Mr. Agassiz being engaged, often 
from early morning till deep into the night, in taking care 
of the specimens which come in from every quarter, and 
making the final preparations for the parties which he 
intends sending into the interior. The most important of 
these, or rather the one for which it is most difficult to 
procure the necessary facilities, is bound for the upper 
course of the San Francisco. At this point one or 
more of their number will strike across the country to 

* Though a resident of the United States tor nearly twenty years, Mr. 
Agassiz was only naturalized in 1863. At the moment when a general 
distrust of our institutions prevailed in Europe, it was a satisfaction to him 
to testify by some personal and public act his confidence in them. 



LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. 



98 



the Tocantins, and descend that river to the Amazons, 
while the others will follow the valley of the Piauhy to 
the coast. This is a long, difficult, but, as we are as- 
sured, not a dangerous journey for young and vigorous 
men. But wishing to anticipate every trouble that may 
befall them, Mr. Agassiz has made it his business to as- 
certain, as far as possible, the nature of the route, and 
to obtain letters to the most influential people for every 
step of the road. This has been no light task ; in a 
country where there are no established means of internal 
communication, where mules, guides, camaradas, and even 
an armed escort may be necessary, and must be provided 
for in advance, the preparation for a journey through the 
interior requires a vast deal of forethought. Add to this 
the national habit of procrastination, the profound convic- 
tion of the Brazilian that to-morrow is better than to-day, 
and one may understand how it happens that, although it 
has been a primary object since our arrival to expedite the 
party to the Tocantins, their departure has been delayed 
till now. And yet it would be the height of ingratitude 
to give the impression that there has been any backward- 
ness on the part of the Brazilians themselves, or of their 
government, to facilitate the objects of the expedition. On 
the contrary, they not only show a warm interest, but the 
utmost generosity, and readiness to give all the practical 
aid in their power. Several leading members of the Cabi- 
net, the Senate, and the House of Eepresentatives have 
found time now, when they have a war upon their hands, 
and when one ministry has been going out and another 
coming in, not only to prepare the necessary introductions 
for these parties from Rio to the Amazons, but also to write 
out the routes, giving the most important directions and 



94 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



information for the separate journeys.* Yet with the best 
will in the world the Brazilians know comparatively little 
of the interior of their own country. It is necessary to 
collect all that is known from a variety of sources, and then 
to combine it as well as may be, so as to form an organized 
plan. Even then a great deal must be left to be decided in 
accordance with circumstances which no one can foresee. 
No pains have been spared to anticipate all the probable 
difficulties, and to provide for them as far as it is humanly 
possible to do so ; and we feel that this journey, a part 
of which has been made by very few persons before, has 
never been undertaken under better auspices. This party 
will explore the upper course of the Rio I)oce, the Rio 
das Velhas, and the San Francisco, with the lower course 
of the Tocantins and its tributaries, as far as they can ; 
making also collections of fossils in certain regions upon 
the route. Another party, starting at about the same time, 
is to keep nearer the coast, exploring the lower course of 
the Rio Doce and the San Francisco. Mr. Agassiz thus 
hopes to make at least a partial survey of this great water 
system, while he himself undertakes the Amazons and its 
tributaries. f In the mean time, the result of the weeks 
he has been obliged to spend in Rio, while organizing the 
work of these parties and making the practical arrange- 
ments for its prosecution, has been very satisfactory. The 
collections are large, and will give a tolerably complete 
idea of the fauna of this province, as well as a part of 

* A short account of these explorations may be found at the end of the 
volume — L. A. 

t I am particularly indebted to Senator Th. Ottoni, Baron de Prados, 
Senator Pompeo, Senator Paranagua, Senhor Paula Souza, and Senhor J. B. 
da Fonseca, for information, maps, and other documents relative to the regions 
intended to be explored by my young friends and myself. — L. A. 



LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. 



95 



that of Minas Geraes. A survey of the Dom Pedro Rail- 
road, made under his direction by his two young friends, 
Messrs. Hart and St. John, is also an excellent beginning 
of the work in this department, and his own observations 
on the drift phenomena have an important bearing on 
the great questions on which he hoped to throw new 
light in coming here. The closing words of a lecture 
delivored by him last evening at the Collegio Dom Pedro 
Segundo will best express his own estimation of the facts 
he has collected in their bearing on the drift phenomena in 
other parts of the world. After giving some account of 
the erratic blocks and drift observed by him at Tijuca 
and already described in his letter to Mr. Peirce, he 
added : "I wish here to make a nice distinction that I 
*may not be misunderstood. I affirm that the erratic phe- 
nomena, viz. erratic drift, in immediate superposition with 
partially decomposed stratified rock, exist here in your 
immediate neighborhood ; I believe that these phenomena 
are connected, here as elsewhere, with the action of ice. 
It is nevertheless possible that a more intimate study of 
these subjects in tropical regions may reveal some phase 
of the phenomena not hitherto observed, just as the in- 
vestigation of the glacial action in the United States has 
shown that immense masses of ice may move over a 
plain, as well as over a mountain slope. Let me now 
urge a special study of these facts upon the young ge- 
ologists of Rio, as they have never been investigated and 
their presence is usually denied. If you ask me, ' To 
what end ? — of what use is such a discovery ? ' — I an- 
swer, It is given to no mortal man to predict what may 
be the result of any discovery in the realms of nature. 
When the electric current was discovered, what was it ? 



96 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



A curiosity. When the first electric machine was in- 
vented, to what use was it put ? To make puppets dance 
for the amusement of children. To-day it is the most 
powerful engine of civilization. But should our work 
have no other result than this, — to know that certain 
facts in nature are thus and not otherwise, that their 
causes were such and no others, — this result in itself is 
good enough, and great enough, since the end of man, his 
aim, his glory, is the knowledge of the truth." 

One word upon these lectures, since we are told by the 
Brazilians themselves that the introduction of public lec- 
tures among them is a novelty and in a certain sense an 
era in their educational history. If any subject of science 
or letters is to be presented to the public here, it is done 
under special conditions before a selected audience, where 
the paper is read in presence of the Emperor with all 
due solemnity. Popular instruction, with admittance for 
all who care to listen or to learn, has been hitherto a 
thing unknown. The suggestion was made by Dr. Pacheco, 
the Director of the Gollegio Dom Pedro II., a man of liberal 
culture and great intelligence, who has already done much 
for the progress of education in Rio de Janeiro ; it found 
favor with the Emperor, who is keenly alive to anything 
which can stimulate the love of knowledge among his 
people, and at his request Mr. Agassiz has given a course of 
lectures in French on a variety of scientific subjects. He 
was indeed very glad to have an opportunity of introducing 
here a means of popular education which he believes to 
have been very salutary in its influence among us. At 
first the presence of ladies was objected to, as too great an 
innovation on national habits ; but even that was overcome, 
and the doors were opened to all comers, the lectures being 



LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. 



97 



given after the true New England fashion. I must say that, 
if the absolutely uninterrupted attention of an audience is 
any test of its intelligence, no man could ask a better one 
than that which Mr. Agassiz has had the pleasure of ad- 
dressing in Rio de Janeiro. It has also been a great pleasure 
to him, after teaching for nearly twenty years in English, to 
throw off the fetters of a foreign tongue and speak again in 
French. After all, with a few exceptions, a man's native 
language remains for him the best ; it is the element in 
which he always moves most at ease. 

The Emperor, with his family, has been present at all 
these lectures, and it is worthy of note, as showing the 
simplicity of his character, that, instead of occupying the 
raised platform intended for them, he caused the chairs 
to be placed on a level with the others, as if to show that 
in science at least there is no distinction of rank.* 

June 11th. — To-day has been a festa, but one the sig- 
nificance of which it is somewhat difficult to understand, 
so singularly is the religious element mingled with the 
grotesque and quaint. In the Church it is the feast of 
Corpus Christi, but it happens to fall on the same date as 
another festival in honor of St. George, which is kept with 
all sorts of antique ceremonies. I went in the morning 

with our young friend, Mr. T , to the Imperial chapel, 

where high mass was celebrated, and at the close of the 
services we had some difficulty in finding our way back 
to the hotel, before which the procession was to pass, for 
the street was already draped with all sorts of gay colors 

"* Since it was reported in the newspapers that the proceeds of these 
lectures were devoted to the expedition, it may be well to mention here 
that they were free, given simply at the request of the Emperor, and open 
to all without charge. 

5 Q 



98 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



and crowded with spectators. First in order came the 
religious part of the procession ; a long array of priests 
and church officials carrying lighted candles, pyramids of 
flowers, banners, <fec. Then came the host, under a canopy 
of white satin and gold, supported by massive staffs ; the 
bearers were the highest dignitaries of the land, first 
among them being the Emperor himself and his son-in- 
law, the Duke of Saxe. In strange contrast with these 
solemnities was the stuffed equestrian figure of St. George, 
a huge, unwieldy shape on horseback, preceded and followed 
by riders almost as grotesque as himself. With him came a 
number of orders resembling, if not the same as, the Free- 
Masons, the Odd Fellows, and like societies. The better 
educated Brazilians speak of this procession as an old 
legacy from Portugal, which has lost its significance for 
them, and which they would gladly see pass out of use, as 
it is already out of date. 

This evening Mr. Agassiz gave the closing lecture of his 
course. It is to be followed next week by a lecture from 
Dr. Capanema, the Brazilian geologist, and there will be 
an attempt made to organize courses of public lectures on 
the same plan hereafter. Our numbers are gradually di- 
minishing. Last week the party for the interior, consisting 
of Messrs. St. John, Allen, Ward, and Sceva, started, and 
Messrs. Hartt and Copeland leave in a day or two to under- 
take an exploration of the coast between the Parahyba do 
Sul and Bahia. 

June 30th. — On the 21st we left Rio on our way to 
the province of Minas Geraes, where we were to pass a 
week at the coffee fazenda of Senhor Lage, who received 
us so courteously on our former visit to Juiz de Fora, 
and who was so influential in projecting and carrying out 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



99 



the Union and Industry road. The journey to Juiz de Fora, 
though we had made it once before, had lost nothing of its 
beauty by familiarity, and had gained in interest of another 
kind ; for his examination of the erratic drift at Tijuca has 
given Mr. Agassiz the key to the geological constitution of 
the soil, and what seemed to him quite inexplicable on 
our first excursion over this road is now perfectly legible. 
It is interesting to watch the progress of an investigation of 
this character, and to see how the mental process gradually 
clears away the obscurity. The perception becomes sharp- 
ened by dwelling upon the subject, and the mind adapts 
itself to a difficult problem as the eye adapts itself to dark- 
ness. That which was confused at first presently becomes 
clear to the mental vision of the observer, who watches and 
waits for the light to enter. There is one effect of the 
atmospheric influence here, already alluded to in the 
previous pages, which at first sight is very deceptive. 
Wherever there is any cut through drift, unless recently 
opened, it becomes baked at the surface so as to simulate 
stone in such a way as hardly to be distinguished from 
the decomposed rock surfaces in place, unless by a careful 
examination. This, together with the partial obliteration 
of the stratification in many places, makes it, at first glance, 
difficult to recognize the point of contact between the 
stratified rock and the drift resting above it. A little 
familiarity with these deceptive appearances, however, 
makes it as easy to read the broken leaves of the book 
of nature here as elsewhere, and Mr. Agassiz has now 
no more difficulty in following the erratic phenomena in 
these Southern regions than in the Northern hemisphere. 
All that is wanting to complete the evidence of the actual 
presence of ice here, in former times, is the glacial writing, 



100 



A JOURNEY IN BEAZIL. 



the striae and furrows and polish which mark its track 
in the temperate zone. These one can hardly hope to 
find where the rock is of so perishable a character and 
its disintegration so rapid. But this much is certain, — 
a sheet of drift covers the country, composed of a homo- 
geneous paste without trace of stratification, containing 
loose materials of all sorts and sizes, imbedded in it 
without reference to weight, large boulders, smaller stones, 
pebbles, and the like. This drift is very unevenly dis- 
tributed ; sometimes rising into high hills, owing to the 
surrounding denudations ; sometimes covering the surface 
merely as a thin layer ; sometimes, and especially on steep 
slopes, washed completely away, leaving the bare face of 
the rock ; sometimes deeply gullied, so as to produce a suc- 
cession of depressions and elevations alternating with each 
other. To this latter cause is due, in great degree, the bil- 
lowy, undulating character of the valleys. Another cause 
of difficulty in tracing the erratic phenomena consists in 
the number of detached fragments which have fallen from 
the neighboring heights. It is not always easy to distin- 
guish these from the erratic boulders. But a number of lo- 
calities exist, nevertheless, where the drift rests immediate- 
ly above stratified rock, with the boulders protruding from 
it, the line of contact being perfectly distinct. It is a curi- 
ous fact, that one may follow the drift everywhere in this 
region by the prosperous coffee plantations. Here as else- 
where ice has been the great fertilizer, — a gigantic plough 
grinding the rocks to powder and making a homogeneous 
soil in which the greatest variety of chemical elements are 
brought together from distant localities. So far as we have 
followed these phenomena in the provinces of Rio and Mi- 
uas Geraes, the thriving coffee plantations are upon erratic 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



101 



drift, the poorer growth upon decomposed rock in place. 
Upon remarking this, we were told that the farmers who 
are familiar with the soil select that in which they find 
loose rocks imbedded, because it is the most fertile. 
They unconsciously seek the erratic drift. It may not 
be amiss to point out some of the localities in which 
these geological phenomena may be most readily studied, 
since they lie along the public road, and are easy of access. 
The drift is very evident in the swamp between Maud, and 
Raiz da Serra on the way to Petropolis. In ascending 
the Serra at the half-way house there is an excellent 
locality for observing drift and boulders ; and beyond one 
may follow the drift up to the very top of the road. The 
whole tract between Villa Theresa and Petropolis is full 
of drift. Just outside of Petropolis, the Piabanha has 
excavated its bed in drift, while the banks have been 
ravined by the rains. At the station of Correio, in front 
of the building, is also an admirable opportunity for ob- 
serving all the erratic phenomena, for here the drift, with 
large boulders interspersed throughout the mass, overlies 
the rock in place. A few steps to the north of the station 
Pedro do Rio there is another great accumulation of large 
boulders in drift. These are but a few of the localities 
where such facts may be observed. 

On the evening of the 22d we arrived at Juiz de Fora, 
and started at sunrise the next morning for the fazenda 
of Senhor Lage, some thirty miles beyond. We had a 
gay party, consisting of the family of Senhor Lage and that 
of his brother-in-law, Senhor Machado, with one or two 
other friends and ourselves. The children were as merry 
as possible, for a visit to the fazenda was a rarity, and looked 
upon by them as a great festivity. To transport us all with 



102 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



our luggage, two large coaches were provided, several mules, 
and a small carriage, while a travelling photographic ma- 
chine, belonging to Senhor Machado, who is an admirable 
photographist, brought up the rear.* The day was beauti- 
ful and our road lay along the side of the Serra, command- 
ing fine views of the inland country and the coffee planta- 
tions which covered the hillsides wherever the primeval 
forest had been cut down. The road is another evidence 
of the intelligence and energy of the proprietor. The old 
roads are mere mule tracks up one side of the Serra and 
down the other, gullied of course by all the heavy rains 
and rendered at times almost impassable. Senhor Lage 
has shown his neighbors what may be done for their 
comfort in a country life by abandoning the old method, 
and, instead of carrying the road across the mountain, 
cutting it in the side with so gradual an ascent as to 
make the ride a very easy one. It is but a four hours' 
drive now from Juiz de Fora to the fazenda, whereas, 
until the last year, it was a day's, or even in bad weather 
a two days' journey on horseback. It is much to be desired 
that his example should be followed, for the absence of any 
tolerable roads in the country makes travelling in the 
interior almost an impossibility, and is the most serious 
obstacle to the general progress and prosperity. It seems 
strange that the governments of the different provinces, 
at least of the more populous ones, such as Minas Geraes 
and Rio, should not organize a system of good highways 
for the greater facility of commerce. The present mode 
of transportation on mule back is slow and cumbrous 

* Mr. Agassiz was indebted to Senhor Machado for a valuable series of 
photographs and stereoscopic views of this region, begun on this excursion 
and completed during our absence in the North of Brazil. 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



103 



in the highest degree ; it would seem as if, where the pro- 
duce of the interior is so valuable, good roads would pay for 
themselves very soon. 

At about eleven o'clock we arrived at the " Fazenda," 
the long, low, white buildings of which enclosed an ob- 
long, open space divided into large squares, where the 
coffee was drying. Only a part of this extensive build- 
ing is occupied as the living rooms of the family ; the 
rest is devoted to all sorts of objects connected with the 
care of the coffee, provision for the negroes, and the like. 

When we reached the plantation the guests had not all 
arrived. The special occasion of this excursion to the fa- 
zenda was the festival of San Joao, kept always with great 
ceremonies in the country ; the whole week was to be de- 
voted to hunting, and Senhor Lage had invited all the best 
sportsmen in the neighborhood to join in the chase. It will 
be seen in the end that these hunters formed themselves 
into a most valuable corps of collectors for Mr. Agassiz. 
After an excellent breakfast we started on horseback for 
the forest with such of the company as had already as- 
sembled. The ride through the dense, deep, quiet wood 
was beautiful ; and the dead pause when some one thought 
the game was near, the hushed voices, the breathless waiting 
for the shot which announced success or failure, only added 
a charm to the scene. They have a strange way of hunting 
here ; as the forest is perfectly impenetrable, they scatter 
food in a cleared space for the animals, and build green 
screens, leaving holes to look through ; behind such a screen 
the hunter waits and watches for hours perhaps, till the 
paca, or peccary, or capivara steals out to feed. The ladies 
dismounted and found a cool seat in one of these forest 
lodges, where they waited for the hunt. No great success, 



104 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



after all, this afternoon, but some birds which were valuable 
as specimens. We rode home in the evening to a late 
dinner, after which an enormous bonfire, built by the 
negroes in honor of the Eve of St. Joao, was lighted in 
front of the house. The scene was exceedingly pictu- 
resque, the whole establishment, the neighboring negro 
huts, and the distant forest being illuminated by the 
blaze, around which the blacks were dancing, accompa- 
nying their wild gestures with song and drum. Every 
now and then a burst of fireworks added new brightness 
to the picture. 

The next day, the 24th, began with a long ride on horse- 
back before breakfast, after which I accompanied Mr. Agassiz 
on a sort of exploration among the Cupim nests (the nests 
of the Termites). These are mounds sometimes three or 
four or even six feet high, and from two to three or four 
feet in diameter, of an extraordinary solidity, almost as 
hard as rock. Senhor Lage sent with us several negroes 
carrying axes to split them open, which, with all their 
strength, proved no easy task. These nests appear usually 
to have been built around some old trunk or root as a 
foundation ; the interior, with its endless serpentine pas- 
sages, looked not unlike the convolutions of a meandrina or 
brain coral ; the walls of the passages seemed to be built of 
earth that had been chewed or kneaded in some way, giv- 
ing them somewhat the consistency of paper. The interior 
was quite soft and brittle, so that as soon as the negroes 
could break through the outer envelope, about six inches 
in thickness, the whole structure readily fell to pieces. 
It had no opening outside, but we found, on uprooting 
one of these edifices from the bottom, that the whole 
base was perforated with holes leading into the ground 



FAZEKDA LIFE. 



105 



beneath. The interior of all of them swarmed with the 
different kinds of inhabitants ; the little white ones, the 
larger black ones with brown heads and powerful forceps, 
and in each were found one or two very large swollen 
white ones, quite different in dimensions and appearance 
from the rest, probably the queens. With the assistance 
of the negroes, Mr. Agassiz made, for future examination, 
a large collection of all the different kinds of individuals 
thus living together in various numeric proportions, and 
he would gladly have carried away one of the nests, but 
they are too cumbersome for transportation. The Cupim 
nests are very different from the dwellings of the Sauba 
ants, which have large external openings. The latter 
make houses by excavating, and sometimes undermine a 
hill so extensively, with their long galleries, that when 
a fire is lighted at one of the entrances to exterminate 
them, the smoke issues at numerous openings, distant per- 
haps a quarter of a mile from each other, showing in how 
many directions they have tunnelled out the hill, and 
that their winding passages communicate with each other 
throughout. So many travellers have given accounts of 
these ant-houses, and of the activity of their inhabitants 
in stripping and carrying off the leaves of trees to deposit 
them in their habitations, that it hardly seems worth while 
to repeat the story. Yet no one can see without aston- 
ishment one of these ant-armies travelling along the road 
they have worn so neatly for themselves, those who are 
coming from the trees looking like a green procession, al- 
most hidden by the fragments of leaves they carry on their 
backs, while the returning troops, who have already de 
posited their burden, are hurrying back for more. There 
seems to be another set of individuals running to and fro, 
5* 



106 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



whose office is not quite so clear, unless it be to marshal 
the whole swarm and act as a kind of police. This view 
is confirmed by an anecdote related by an American resi- 
dent here, who told us that he once saw an ant, return- 
ing without his load to the house, stopped by one of these 
anomalous individuals, severely chastised and sent back to 
the tree apparently to do his appointed task. The Sauba 
ants are very injurious to the coffee shrubs, and difficult to 
exterminate.* 

In the afternoon, the hunters of the neighborhood began 
to come in and the party was considerably enlarged. This 
fazenda life, at least on an informal jovial occasion like this, 
has a fascinating touch of the Middle Ages in it. I am 
always reminded of this when we assemble for dinner 
in the large dimly lighted hall, where a long table, laden 
with game and with large haunches of meat, stands ready 
for the miscellaneous company, daily growing in numbers. 
At the upper end sit the family with their immediate guests ; 
below, with his family, is the " Administrador," whose office 
I suppose corresponds to that of overseer on a Southern 
plantation. In this instance he is a large picturesque- 
looking man, generally equipped in a kind of gray blouse 
strapped around the waist by a broad black belt, in which 
are powder-flask and knife, with a bugle slung over his 
shoulder, a slouched hat, and high top-boots. During din- 
ner a number of chance cavaliers drop in, entirely without 
ceremony, in hunter's costume, as they return from the 
chase. Then at night, or rather early in the morning, 
(for the Brazilian habit is " early to bed and early to rise," 
in order to avoid the heat,) what jollity and song, sounding 

* The most complete account of these curious animals is to be found in 
Bates's " Naturalist on the Amazons." 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



107 



the bugles long before the dawn, twanging the guitar and 
whistling on the peculiar instrument used here to call the 
game. Altogether it is the most novel and interesting 
collection of social elements, mingling after a kind of pic- 
nic fashion without the least formality, and we feel every 
day how much we owe to our kind hosts for admitting 
us to an occasion where one sees so much of what is 
national and characteristic. The next day we went to 
breakfast at a smaller fazenda belonging also to Senhor 
Lage, higher up on the Serra da Babylonia. Again, start- 
ing before sunrise, we went slowly up the mountain, the 
summit of which is over 3,000 feet above the sea level. 
We were preceded by the " liteira," a queer kind of car 
slung between two mules, in which rode the grandmamma 
and the baby ; as carriages are impossible on these moun- 
tain roads, some such conveyance is necessary for those 
who are too old or too young for horseback travelling. 
The view was lovely, the morning cool and beautiful, and 
after a two hours' ride we arrived at the upper fazenda. 
Here we left our horses and went on foot into the forest, 
where the ladies and children wandered about, gathering 
flowers and exploring the wood walks, while the gentle- 
men occupied themselves with fishing and hunting till 
midday, when we returned to the house to breakfast. 
The result of the chase was a monkey, two caititu (wild 
pigs), and a great variety of birds, all of which went to 
swell the scientific collections.* We returned to dine at 

* I was especially interested in examining the vegetable productions of a 
little lake, hardly larger than a mill-pond, near this fazenda. It was strange 
to see Potamogeton and Myriophyllum, plants which we associate exclusively 
with the fresh waters of the temperate zone, growing in the shadow of tropical 
forests where monkeys have their home. Such combinations are very puzzling 
to the student of the laws of geographical distribution. — L. A. 



108 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



the lower fazenda, and all retired soon after, for the next 
day the great hunt of the week would take place, and we 
were to be early astir. 

At dawn the horses were at the door, and we were mount- 
ing the Serra before sunrise. We were bound to a fazenda 
on the Serra da Babylonia, some two leagues from the one 
at which we were staying, and on higher ground, too high 
indeed for the culture of coffee, and devoted to pasture 
land. It is here that Senhor Lage has his horses and 
cattle. The ride along the zigzag road winding up the 
Serra was delightful in the early morning. The clouds 
were flushed with the dawn ; the distant hills and the for- 
est, spreading endlessly beneath us, glowed in the sunrise. 
The latter part of the road lay mostly through the woods, 
and brought us out, after some two hours' ride, on the 
brow of a hill overlooking a small lake, sunk in a cup- 
like depression of the mountain, just beyond which was 
the fazenda. The scenic effect was very pretty, for the 
border of the lake was ornamented with flags, and on 
its waters floated a little miniature steamer with the 
American flag at one end and the Brazilian at the other. 
Our host invited us to ride in at the gate of the fazenda, 
in advance of the rest of our cavalcade, a request which 
we understood when, as we passed the entrance, the little 
steamer put into shore, and, firing a salute in our honor, 
showed its name, Agassiz, in full. It was a pleasant sur- 
prise very successfully managed. After the little excite- 
ment of this incident was over, we went to the house to tie 
up our riding-habits and prepare for the woods. We then 
embarked in the newly-christened boat and crossed the lake 
to a forest on the other side. Here were rustic tables and 
seats arranged under a tent where we were to breakfast ; 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



109 



but while the meal was making ready and a fire building 
for the boiling of coffee, the stewing of chicken, rice, and 
other creature comforts, we wandered at will in the wood. 
This was the most beautiful, because the wildest and most 
primitive, specimen of tropical forest we have yet seen. 
I think no description prepares one for the difference 
between this forest and our own, even though the latter 
be the " forest primeval." It is not merely the difference 
of the vegetation, but the impenetrability of the mass here 
that makes the density, darkness, and solemnity of the 
woods so impressive. It seems as if the mode of growth — 
many of the trees shooting up to an immense height, but 
branching only toward the top — were meant to give room 
to the legion of parasites, sipos, lianas, and climbing plants 
of all kinds which fill the intervening spaces. There is one 
fact which makes the study of the tropical forest as inter- 
esting to the geologist as to the botanist, namely, its rela- 
tion to the vegetable world of past ages hidden in the 
rocks. The tree-ferns, the Chamaerops, the Pandanus, the 
Araucarias, are all modern representatives of past types, 
and this walk in the forest was an important one to Mr. 
Agassiz, because he made out one of those laws of growth 
which unite the past and the present. The Chamaerops is a 
palm belonging to the ancient vegetable world, but having 
its representatives in our days. The modern Chamaerops, 
with its fan-like leaves spreading on one level, stands struc- 
turally lower than the Palms with pinnate leaves, which 
belong almost exclusively to our geological age, and have 
numerous leaflets arranged along either side of a central 
axis. The young Palms were exceedingly numerous, spring- 
ing up at every step upon our path, some of them not more 
than two inches high, while their elders towered fifty feet 



1» 



110 A JOURNEY W BRAZIL. 

above them. Mr. Agassiz gathered and examined great 
numbers of them, and found that the young Palms, to 
whatever genus they may belong, invariably resemble the 
Chainaerops, having their leaves extending fan-like on one 
plane, instead of being scattered along a central axis, as 
in the adult tree. The infant Palm is in fact the mature 
Chamserops in miniature, showing that among plants as 
among animals, at least in some instances, there is a cor- 
respondence between the youngest stages of growth in the 
higher species of a given type and the earliest introduction 
of that type on earth.* 

At the close of our ramble, from which the Professor 
returned looking not unlike an ambulatory representative 
of tropical vegetation, being loaded down with palm-branch- 
es, tree-ferns, and the like, we found breakfast awaiting us. 
Some of our party were missing, however, the hunters 
having already taken their stations at some distance near 
the water. The game was an Anta (Tapir), a curious 
animal, abounding in the woods of this region. It has a 
special interest for the naturalist, because it resembles 
certain ancient mammalia now found only among the 
fossils, just as the tree-fern, Chainasrops, &c. resemble 
past vegetable types. Although Mr. Agassiz had seen it 
in confinement, he had a great desire to observe it in 
action under its natural condition, and in the midst of a 
tropical forest as characteristic of old geological times 
as the creature itself. It was, in fact, to gratify this desire 
that Mr. Lage had planned the hunt. " L'homme propose 
et Dieu dispose," however, and, as the sequel will show, 

* In the same way, it may be said that in its incipient growth the Dicoty- 
ledonous Plant exhibits, in the structure of its germinative leaves, the character- 
istic features of Monocotyledonous Plants. — L. A. 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



Ill 



we were not destined to see an Anta this day. The forest 
being, as I have said, impenetrable to the hunter, except 
where paths have been cut, the game is roused by sending 
the dogs into the wood, the sportsmen stationing themselves 
at certain distances on the outskirts. The Anta has his 
haunts near lakes or rivers, and when wearied and heated 
with the chase he generally makes for the water, and, 
springing in, is shot as he swims across. As we were 
lingering over the breakfast-table we heard the shout of 
Anta ! Anta ! In an instant every man sprang to his 
gun and ran down to the water-side, while we all stood 
waiting, listening to the cries of the dogs, now frantic 
with excitement, and expecting every moment the rush 
of the hunted animal and his spring into the lake. But 
it was a false alarm ; the cries of the dogs died away in the 
distance : the day was colder than usual, the Anta turned 
back from the water, and, leading his pursuers a weary 
chase, was lost in the forest. After a time the dogs 
returned, looking tired and dispirited. But though we 
missed the Tapir, we saw enough of the sport to under- 
stand what makes the charm to the hunter of watching 
for hours in the woods, and perhaps returning, after all, 
empty-handed. If he does not get the game, he has the 
emotion ; every now and then he thinks the creature is 
at hand, and he has a momentary agitation, heightened by 
the cries of the dogs and the answering cry of the sports- 
men, who strive to arouse them to the utmost by their 
own shouts, and then if the animal turns back into the 
thicket all sound dies away, and to a very pandemonium 
of voices succeed the silence and solitude of the forest. 
All these things have their fascination, and explain to 
the uninitiated, to whom it seems at first incomprehensible, 



112 



A JOURNEY m BRAZIL. 



why these men will wait motionless for hours, and think 
themselves repaid (as I heard one of them declare) if they 
only hear the cry of the dogs and know they have roused 
the game, even if there be no other result. However, in 
this instance, we had plenty of other booty. The Anta lost, 
the hunters, who had carefully avoided firing hitherto, lest 
the sounds of their guns should give him warning, now 
turned their attention to lesser game, and we rode home 
in the afternoon rich in spoils, though without a Tapir. 

The next day was that of our departure. Before leav- 
ing, we rode with Mr. Lage through his plantation, that 
we might understand something of the process of coffee 
culture in this country. I am not sure that, in giving 
an account of this model fazenda, we give a just idea 
of fazendas in general. Its owner carries the same large 
and comprehensive spirit, the same energy and force of will, 
into all his undertakings, and has introduced extensive 
reforms on his plantations. The Fazenda da Fortaleza 
de Santa Anna lies at the foot of the Serra da Babylonia. 
The house itself, as I have already said, makes a part of a 
succession of low white buildings, enclosing an oblong 
square divided into neat lots, destined for the drying of 
coffee. This drying of the coffee in the immediate vicinity 
of the house, though it seems a very general custom, must 
be an uncomfortable one ; for the drying-lots are laid down 
in a dazzling white cement, from the glare of which, in this 
hot climate, the eye turns wearily away, longing for a green 
spot on which to rest. Just behind the house on the slope 
of the hill is the orangery. I am never tired of these 
golden orchards, and this was one of especial beauty. 
The small, deep-colored tangerines, sometimes twenty or 
thirty in one cluster, the large, choice orange, " Laranja 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



113 



selecta," as it is called, often ten or twelve together in a 
single bunch, and bearing the branches to the ground 
with their weight ; the paler " Limao dOce," or sweet 
lemon, rather insipid, but greatly esteemed here for its 
cool, refreshing properties, — all these, with many others, 
— for the variety of oranges is far greater than we of the 
temperate zone conceive it to be, — make a mass of color 
in which gold, deep orange, and pale yellow are blended 
wonderfully with the background of green. Beyond the 
house enclosure, on the opposite side of the road, are 
the gardens, with aviary, and fish-ponds in the centre. 
With these exceptions, all of the property which is not 
forest is devoted to coffee, covering all the hillsides for 
miles around. The seed is planted in nurseries especially 
prepared, where it undergoes its first year's growth. It 
is then transplanted to its permanent home, and begins 
to bear in about three years, the first crop being of course 
a very light one. From that time forward, under good 
care and with favorable soil, it will continue to bear and 
even to yield two crops or more annually, for thirty 
years in succession. At that time the shrubs and the soil 
are alike exhausted, and, according to the custom of the 
country, the fazendeiro cuts down a new forest and be- 
gins a new plantation, completely abandoning his old 
one, without a thought of redeeming or fertilizing the 
exhausted land. One of the long-sighted reforms under- 
taken by our host is the manuring of all the old, deserted 
plantations on his estate ; he has already a number of 
vigorous young plantations, which promise to be as good 
as if a virgin forest had been sacrificed to produce them. 
He wishes not only to preserve the wood on his own 
estate, and to show that agriculture need not be culti- 



114 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



vated at the expense of taste and beauty, but to remind 
his country people also, that, extensive as are the forests, 
they will not last forever, and that it will be necessary 
to emigrate before long to find new coffee grounds, if 
the old ones are to be considered worthless. Another 
of his reforms is that of the roads, already alluded to. 
The ordinary roads in the coffee plantations, like the mule- 
tracks all over the country, are carried straight up the 
sides of the hills between the lines of shrubs, gullied by 
every rain, and offering, besides, so steep an ascent that 
even with eight or ten oxen it is often impossible to drive 
the clumsy, old-fashioned carts up the slope, and the negroes 
are obliged to bring a great part of the harvest down on 
their heads. An American, who has been a great deal on 
the coffee fazendas in this region, told me that he had seen 
negroes bringing enormous burdens of this kind on their 
heads down almost vertical slopes. On Senhor Lage's 
estate all these old roads are abandoned, except where 
they are planted here and there with alleys of orange- 
trees for the use of the negroes, and he has substituted 
for them winding roads in the side of the hill with a 
very gradual ascent, so that light carts dragged by a 
single mule can transport all the harvest from the sum- 
mit of the plantation to the drying-ground. It was the 
harvesting season, and the spectacle was a pretty one. * 
The negroes, men and women, were scattered about the 
plantations with broad, shallow trays, made of plaited grass 
or bamboo, strapped over their shoulders and supported at 
their waists ; into these they were gathering the coffee, 
some of the berries being brilliantly red, some already 
beginning to dry and turn brown, while here and there 
was a green one not yet quite ripe, but soon to ripen in the 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



115 



scorching sun. Little black children were sitting on the 
ground and gathering what fell under the bushes, singing 
at their work a monotonous but rather pretty snatch of 
song in which some took the first and others the second, 
making a not inharmonious music. As their baskets were 
filled they came to the Administrador to receive a little 
metal ticket on which the amount of their work was 
marked. A task is allotted to each one, — so much to 
a full-grown man, so much to a woman with young chil- 
dren, so much to a child, — and each one is paid for what- 
ever he may do over and above it. The requisition is a 
very moderate one, so that the industrious have an oppor- 
tunity of making a little money independently. At night 
they all present their tickets and are paid on the spot for 
any extra work. From the harvesting-ground we followed 
the carts down to the place where their burden is deposited. 
On their return from the plantation the negroes divide the 
day's harvest, and dispose it in little mounds on the dry- 
ing-ground. When pretty equally dried, the coffee is 
spread out in thin even layers over the whole enclosure, 
where it is baked for the last time. It is then hulled by 
a very simple machine in use on almost all the fazendas, 
and the process is complete. At noon we bade good by 
to our kind hosts, and started for Juiz de Fora. Our stage 
was not a bad imitation of Noah's ark, for we carried with 
us the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the 
fishes from the waters,* to say nothing of the trees from 
the forest. The party with whom we had passed such 
pleasant days collected to bid us farewell, and followed 

* Senhor Lage had caused an extensive collection of fishes to be gathered 
from the waters of the Eio Novo, so that this excursion greatly extended 
the range of my survey of the basin of the Parahyba. — L. A. 



• 



116 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



us, as we passed out from the gate, with vivas and 
waving hats and handkerchiefs. 

The following day we were fortunate in having cool 
weather with a somewhat cloudy sky, so that our ride of 
ten hours from Juiz de Fora to Petropolis, on the top of the 
stage, was delightful. The next morning in driving down 
the Serra to Maua we witnessed a singular phenomenon, 
common enough, I suppose, to those who live in high re- 
gions. As we turned the corner of the road which first 
brings us in sight of the magnificent view below the Serra, 
there was a general exclamation of surprise and admiration. 
The valley and harbor, quite out to the sea, were changed 
to a field of snow, white, soft, and fleecy, as if fallen that 
night. The illusion was perfect, and though recognized 
at once as simply an effect of the heavy morning fog, 
we could hardly believe that it would disperse at our 
approach and not prove to be the thing it seemed. Here 
and there the summit of a hill pierced through it like 
an island, making the deception more complete. The 
incident was especially interesting to us as connecting 
itself with our late discussions as to the possible former 
existence of glaciers in this region. In his lecture a 
few nights before, describing the greater extension of 
the ice in former geological ages, when the whole plain 
of Switzerland between the Alps and Jura must have 
been filled with glaciers, Mr. Agassiz had said "there is 
a phenomenon not uncommon in the autumn in Switzer- 
land which may help us to reconstruct this wonderful 
picture. Sometimes in a September morning the whole 
plain of Switzerland is filled with vapor which, when its 
pure white, undulating surface is seen from the higher 
summits of the Jura, looks like a snowy ' mer de glace,' 



• 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



117 



appearing to descend from the peaks of the Alps and ex- 
tending toward the Jura, while from all the tributary 
valleys similar masses pour down to meet it." It was 
as if the valley and harbor of Rio had meant to offer us 
a similar picture of past times, with the image of which 
our minds had been filled for the last few days in conse- 
quence of the glacial phenomena constantly presented to us 
on our journey. 

July 6th. — To-morrow was to have been the day of 
our departure for the Amazons, but private interests must 
yield to public good, and it seems that the steamer which 
was to have left for Para to-morrow has been taken by the 
government to transport troops to the seat of war. The 
aspect of the war grows daily more serious, and the 
Emperor goes himself the day after to-morrow to Rio 
Grande do Sul, accompanied by his son-in-law, the Duke 
of Saxe, soon to be followed by the Conte d'Eu, who is 
expected by the French steamer of the 18th of this month. 
Under these circumstances, not only are we prevented from 
going at the appointed date, but it seems not improbable 
that the exigencies of war may cause a still further delay, 
should other steamers be needed. A very pleasant public 
dinner, intended to be on the eve of his departure, was 
given to Mr. Agassiz yesterday by Messrs. Fleiuss and Linde. 
Germans, Swiss, French, Americans, and Brazilians made 
up the company, a mingling of nationalities which resulted 
in a very general harmony. 

July 9th. — For some time Mr. Agassiz has been trying 
to get living specimens of the insect so injurious to the 
coffee-tree ; the larva of a little moth akin to those which 
destroy the vineyards in Europe. Yesterday he succeeded 
in obtaining some, and among them one just spinning 



118 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



his cocoon on the leaf. We watched him for a long time 
with the lens as he wove his filmy tent. He had 
arched the threads upwards in the centre, so as to leave a 
little hollow space into which he could withdraw ; this tiny- 
vault seemed to be completed at the moment we saw him, 
and he was drawing threads forward and fastening them at 
a short distance beyond, thus lashing his house to the leaf 
as it were. The exquisite accuracy of the work was 
amazing. He was spinning the thread with his mouth, 
and with every new stitch he turned his body backward, 
attached his thread to the same spot, then drew it forward 
and fastened it exactly on a line with the last, with a 
precision and rapidity that machinery could hardly imitate. 
It is a curious question how far this perfection of workman- 
ship in many of the lower animals is simply identical with 
their organization, and therefore to be considered a function, 
as inevitable in its action as digestion or respiration, rather 
than an instinct. In this case the body of the little animal 
was his measure : it was amazing to see him lay down his 
threads with such accuracy, till one remembered that he 
could not make them longer or shorter ; for, starting from 
the centre of his house, and stretching his body its full 
length, they must always reach the same point. The same 
is true of the so-called mathematics of the bee. The bees 
stand as close as they can together in their hive for 
economy of space, and each one deposits his wax around 
him, his own form and size being the mould for the 
cells, the regularity of which when completed excites so 
much wonder and admiration. The mathematical secret 
of the bee is to be found in his structure, not in his 
instinct. But in the industrial work of some of the 
lower animals, the ant for instance, there is a power of 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



119 



adaptation which is not susceptible of the same explana- 
tion. Their social organization, too intelligent, it seems, 
to be the work of any reasoning powers of their own, yet 
does not appear to be directly connected with their struct- 
ure. While we were watching our little insect, a breath 
stirred the leaf and he instantly contracted himself and 
drew back under his roof ; but presently came out again 
and returned to his work. 

July Ikih. — I have passed two or three days of this 
week very pleasantly with a party of friends who invited 
me to join them on a visit to one of the largest fazendas 
in this neighborhood, belonging to the Commendador Breves. 
A journey of some four hours on the Dom Pedro Rail- 
road brought us to the " Barra do Pirahy," and thence we 
proceeded on mule-back, riding slowly along the banks of 
the Parahyba through very pleasant, quiet scenery, though 
much less picturesque than that in the immediate vicinity 
of Rio. At about sunset we reached the fazenda, standing 
on a terrace just above the river, and commanding a lovely 
view of water and woodland. We were received with a 
hospitality hardly to be equalled, I think, out of Brazil, 
for it asks neither who you are nor whence you come, 
but opens its doors to every wayfarer. On this occasion 
we were expected ; but it is nevertheless true that at such 
a fazenda, where the dining-room accommodates a hundred 
persons if necessary, all travellers passing through the 
country are free to stop for rest and refreshment. At the 
time of our visit there were several such transient guests ; 
among others a couple quite unknown to our hosts, who 
had stopped for the night, but had been taken ill and de- 
tained there several days. They seemed entirely at home. 
On this estate there are about two thousand slaves, thirty 



120 



A JOUENEY IN BRAZIL. 



of whom are house-servants ; it includes within its own 
borders all that would be required by such a population 
in the way of supplies : it has its drug-shop and its 
hospital ; its kitchens for the service of the guests and 
for that of the numerous indoor servants, its church, its 
priest, and its doctor. Here the church was made by 
throwing open a small oratory, very handsomely fitted 
up with gold and silver service, purple altar-cloth, &c„ 
at the end of a very long room, which, though used for 
other purposes, serves on such an occasion to collect the 
large household together. The next morning our hostess 
showed us the different working-rooms. One of the most 
interesting was that where the children were taught to 
sew. I have wondered, on our Southern plantations, that 
more pains was not taken to make clever seamstresses 
of the women. Here plain sewing is taught to all the 
little girls, and many of them are quite expert in em- 
broidery and lace-making. Beyond this room was a store- 
room for clothing, looking not unlike one of our sanitary 
rooms, with heaps of woollen and cotton stuffs which the 
black women were cutting out and making up for the field 
hands. The kitchens, with the working and lodging rooms of 
the house negroes, enclosed a court planted with trees and 
shrubs, around which extended covered brick walks where 
blacks, young and old, seemed to swarm, from the withered 
woman who boasted herself a hundred, but was still proud to 
display her fine lace-work, and ran like a girl, to show us 
how sprightly she was, to the naked baby creeping at her 
feet. The old woman had received her liberty some time 
ago, but seemed to be very much attached to the family 
and never to have thought of leaving them. These are the 
things which make one hopeful about slavery in Brazil ; 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



121 



emancipation is considered there a subject to be discussed, 
legislated upon, adopted ultimately, and it seems no uncom- 
mon act to present a slave with his liberty. In the evening, 
while taking coffee on the terrace after dinner, we had very 
good music from a brass-band composed of slaves belonging 
to the estate. The love of the negroes for music is always 
remarkable, and here they take pains to cultivate it. Sen- 
hor Breves keeps a teacher for them, and they are really 
very well trained. At a later hour we had the band in 
the house and a dance by the black children which was 
comical in the extreme. Like little imps of darkness they 
looked, dancing with a rapidity of movement and gleeful 
enjoyment with which one could not but sympathize. 
While the music was going on, every door and window 
was filled with a cloud of dusky faces, now and then a 
fair one among them ; for here, as elsewhere, slavery 
brings its inevitable and heaviest curse, and white slaves 
are by no means uncommon. The next morning we left 
the fazenda, not on mule-back, however, but in one of 
the flat-bottomed coffee-boats, an agreeable exchange for 
the long, hot ride. We were accompanied to the landing 
by our kind hosts, and followed by quite a train of blacks, 
some of them bringing the baggage, others coming only for 
the amusement of seeing us off. Among them was the 
old black woman who gave us the heartiest cheers of all, 
as we put off from the shore. The sail down the river was 
very pleasant ; the coffee-bags served as cushions, and, with 
all our umbrellas raised to make an awning, we contrived 
to shelter ourselves from the sun. Neither was the journey 
without excitement, the river being so broken by rocks in 
many places that there are strong rapids, requiring a skilful 
navigation. 

6 



122 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



July 15th. — A long botanizing excursion to-day among 
the Tijuca hills with Mr. Glaziou, director of the Passeio 
Publico, as guide. It has been a piece of the good fortune 
attending Mr. Agassiz thus far on this expedition to find in 
Mr. Glaziou a botanist whose practical familiarity with 
tropical plants is as thorough as his theoretical knowledge. 
He has undertaken to enrich our scientific stores with a 
large collection of such palms and other trees as illustrate 
the relation between the present tropical vegetation and the 
ancient geological forests. Such a collection will be invalu- 
able as a basis for palaeontological studies at the Museum of 
Comparative Zoology in Cambridge. 

July 2 3 d. — At last our plans for the Amazons seem 
definitely settled. We sail the day after to-morrow by the 
Cruzeiro do Sul. The conduct of the government toward 
the expedition is very generous ; free passages are granted 
to the whole party, and yesterday Mr. Agassiz received an 
official document enjoining all persons connected with the 
administration to give him every facility for his scientific 
objects. We have another piece of good fortune in the 
addition to our party of Major Coutinho, a member of 
the government corps of engineers, who has been engaged 
for several years in explorations on the Amazonian rivers. 
Happily for us, he returned to Rio a few weeks ago, and a 
chance meeting at the palace, where he had gone to re- 
port the results of the journey just completed, and Mr. 
Agassiz to discuss the plans for that about to begin, brought 
them together. This young officer's investigations had made 
his name familiar to Mr. Agassiz, and when the Emperor 
asked the latter how he could best assist him, he answered 
that there was nothing he so much desired or which would 
so materially aid him as the companionship of Major Cou- 



FAZENDA LIFE. 



123 



tinho. The Emperor cordially consented, Major Coutinho 
signified his readiness, and the matter was concluded. 
Since then there have been frequent conferences between 
Mr. Agassiz and his new colleague, intent study of maps 
and endless talk about the most desirable mode of laying 
out and dividing the work. He feels that Major Coutinho's 
familiarity with the scenes to which we are going will 
lighten his task of half its difficulties, while his , scientific 
zeal will make him a most sympathetic companion.* We 
found to-day some large leaves of the Terminalia Catappa 
of the most brilliant colors ; red and gold as bright as any 
of our autumnal leaves. This would seem to confirm the 
opinion that the turning of the foliage with us is not an 
effect of frost, but simply the ripening of the leaf; since 
here, where there is no frost, the same phenomenon takes 
place as in our northern latitudes. 

July 24:th. — Our last preparations for the journey are 
completed ; the collections made since our arrival, amount- 
ing to upwards of fifty barrels and cases, are packed, in 
readiness for the first opportunity which occurs for the 
United States, and to-morrow morning we shall be on 
our way to the great river. We went this morning to 
the Collegio Dom Pedro Segundo to bid farewell to our 
excellent friend Dr. Pacheco, to whose kindness we owe 
much of our enjoyment during our stay here. The Col- 
lege building was once a " seminario," a charitable in- 
stitution where boys were taken to be educated as priests. 

* Never were pleasant anticipations more delightfully fulfilled. During 
eleven months of the most intimate companionship I had daily cause to be 
grateful for the chance which had thrown us together. I found in Major 
Coutinho an able collaborator, untiring in his activity- and devotion to scien- 
tific aims, an admirable guide, and a friend whose regard I trust I 6hall ever 
retain. — L. A. 



124 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



The rules of the establishment were strict ;~ no servants 
were kept, the pupils were obliged to do their own work, 
cooking, &c, and even to go out into the streets to beg 
after the fashion of the mendicant orders. One condi- 
tion only was attached to the entrance of the children, 
namely, that they should be of pure race ; no mulattoes or 
negroes were admitted. I do not know on what ground 
this institution was broken up by the government and the 
building taken as a school-house. It has still a slightly 
monastic aspect, though it has been greatly modified ; but 
the cloisters running around closed courts remind one of 
its origin. The recitations were going on at the moment 
of our visit, and as we had seen nothing as yet of the 
schools, Dr. Pacheco took us through the establishment. 
A college here does not signify a university as with us, 
but rather a high school, the age of the pupils being 
from twelve to eighteen. It is difficult to judge of 
methods of education in a foreign language with which 
one is not very familiar. But the scholars appeared bright 
and interested, their answers came promptly, their dis- 
cipline was evidently good. One thing was very striking 
to a stranger in seeing so many young people collected 
together ; namely, the absence of pure type and the fee- 
ble physique. I do not know whether it is in consequence 
of the climate, but a healthy, vigorous child is a rare 
sight in Bio de Janeiro. The scholars were of all colors, 
from black through intermediate shades to white, and even 
one of the teachers having the direction of a higher class in 
Latin was a negro. It is. an evidence of the absence of any 
prejudice against the blacks, that, on the occasion of a recent 
vacancy among the Latin professors, this man, having passed 
the best examination, was unanimously chosen in preference 



4 



FAZENDA LIFE. 125 

to several Brazilians, of European descent, who presented 
themselves as candidates at the same time. After hearing 
several of the classes we went over the rest of the building. 
The order and exquisite neatness of the whole establish- 
ment, not forgetting the kitchen, where the shining brasses 
and bright tins might awaken the envy of many a house- 
keeper, bear testimony to the excellence of the general 
direction. Since the institution passed into Dr. Pacheco's 
hands he has done a great deal to raise its character. 
He has improved the library, purchased instruments for 
the laboratory, and made many judicious changes in the 
general arrangement. 



126 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA 

On board the " Cruzeiro do Sul." — Members of the Party. — Arrival 
at Bahia. — Day in the Country. — Return to the Steamer. — Conver- 
sation about Slavery in Brazil. — Negro Marriages. — Maceio. — Per- 
nambuco. — parahyba do norte. — ramble on shore. — ceara. — diffi- 
CULT Landing. — Brazilian Baths. — Maranham. — Assai Palm. — Visit to 
Orphan Asylum. — Detained in Port. — Variety of Medusae. — Arrival 
of American Gunboat. — More Medusae. — Dinner on Shore. — Cordial- 
ity TOWARD THE EXPEDITION. — ARRIVAL AT PARA. — KlND RECEPTION. — 

Environs of Para. — Luxuriant Growth. — Markets. — Indian Boats. — 
Agreeable Climate. — Excursion in the Harbor. — Curious Mushroom. 
— Success in collecting, with the assistance of our Host and other 
Friends. — Fishes of the Forests. — Public Expressions of Sympathy 
for the Expedition. — Generosity of the Amazonian Steamshd? Com- 
pany. — Geological Character of the Shore from Rio to Para'. — Er- 
ratic Drift. — Letter to the Emperor. 

July 25th. — On board the " Cruzeiro do Sul." We 
sailed to-day at 11 o'clock, bidding good by with regret, 
though not without hope of return, to the beautiful bay 
and mountains on which we have been looking for three 
months. Our party consists of Major Coutinho, Mr. Burk- 
hardt, Monsieur Bourget, who accompanies Mr. Agassiz 
to the Amazons as collector and preparator, our two young 
friends Mr. Hunnewell and Mr. James, and ourselves. At 
Bahia we shall be joined by Mr. Dexter and Mr. Thayer, 
two of our party who have preceded us up the coast, and 
have been collecting in the neighborhood of Bahia for two 
or three weeks. The aspect of the steamer is not very 
inviting, for it has been used of late for the transportation 
of troops to the south, in consequence of which it is very 
dirty ; it is also overcrowded on account of the number of 
persons bound northward, who have been detained in Rio 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PAEA'. 



127 



by the interruption of the regular trips on this line. Wb 
are promised better accommodations after a few days, how- 
ever, as many of the passengers will drop off at Bahia and 
Pernambuco. 

July 28th. — Bahia. Half the enjoyment of life borrows 
intensity from contrast, and to this principle we certainly 
owe a part of our pleasure to-day. After three half sea- 
sick days on a dirty, crowded steamer, the change is de- 
lightful to a breezy country house, where we are received 
with that most gracious hospitality which relieves both 
host and guests of the sense of entertaining or being 
entertained. Here I have been sitting under the deep 
shade of a huge mango-tree, with a number of the " Re- 
vue des Deux Mondes " on my knee, either reading or 
listening lazily to the rustle of the leaves or the cooing 
of the pigeons as they patter up and down on the tiled 
floor of the porch near by, or watching the negroes as 
they come and go with trays of vegetables or baskets 
of fruit and flowers on their heads, for the service of 
the house. In the mean time, Mr. Agassiz is engaged in 
examining the collections made by Mr. Dexter and Mr. 
Thayer during their visit here. They have been aided 
most cordially by our friend Mr. Antonio de Lacerda, at 
whose hospitable house we are staying, and where we 
found our travelling companions quite domesticated. He 
received them on their arrival, and has given them every 
facility during their stay here for the objects they had in 
view, his own love of natural history, to which he devotes 
every spare hour from his active business life, rendering 
him an efficient ally. He has a large and very valuable 
collection of insects, admirably arranged and in excellent 
preservation. They are also greatly indebted to Mr. Nicolai, 



128 



A JOURNEY W BRAZIL. 



the resident English clergyman here, who has accompanied 
them on some of their excursions, and put them in the way 
of seeing whatever was most interesting in the neighbor- 
hood. 

On arriving in South America one should land first 
in Bahia, for in its aspect it is the most national and 
characteristic of the cities. As we passed directly through 
the town this morning, we can give but little account of 
it, and yet we saw enough to confirm all that has been said 
of its quaint and picturesque character. On first disem- 
barking, you find yourself at the foot of an almost per- 
pendicular hill, and negro-bearers appear at your side 
to carry you up the steep ascent, almost impassable for 
carriages, in a " cadeira," or curtained chair. This is 
in itself an odd experience for one to whom it is new, 
and the rest of the city, with its precipitous streets, its 
queer houses, its old churches, is as quaint and antique 
as these original carriages. 

July 29th. — To-day we have the "revers de la me*daille" ; 
we have returned to our prison, and a violent rain drives us 
all to take refuge in the hot, close dining-room, our only 
resort when the weather is bad. 

July 30th. — Off Macei6. Last evening, when the rain 
was over and the moonlight tempted every one on deck, 
we had a long conversation with our pleasant travelling 
companion, Mr. Sinimbu, senator from the province of 
AlagSas, on the aspect of slavery in Brazil. It seems to 
me that we may have something to learn here in our own 
perplexities respecting the position of the black race among 
us, for the Brazilians are trying gradually and by install- 
ments some of the experiments which are forced upon 
us without previous preparation. The absence of all re- 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA. 129 

straint upon the free blacks, the fact that they are eligible 
to office, and that all professional careers are open to them, 
without prejudice on the ground of color, enables one to 
form some opinion as . to their ability and capacity for 
development. Mr. Sinimbu tells us that here the result 
is on the whole in their favor ; he says that the free 
blacks compare well in intelligence and activity with the 
Brazilians and Portuguese. But it must be remembered, 
in making the comparison with reference to our own coun- 
try, that here they are brought into contact with a less 
energetic and powerful race than the Anglo-Saxon. Mr. 
Sinimbu believes that emancipation is to be accomplished 
in Brazil by a gradual process which has already begun. 
A large number of slaves are freed every year by the 
wills of their masters ; a still larger number buy their 
own freedom annually ; and as there is no longer any 
importation of blacks, the inevitable result of this must 
be the natural death of slavery. Unhappily, the process 
is a slow one, and in the mean while slavery is doing its 
evil work, debasing and enfeebling alike whites and blacks. 
The Brazilians themselves do not deny this, and one con- 
stantly hears them lament the necessity of sending their 
children away to be educated, on account of the injurious 
association with the house-servants. In fact, although 
politically slavery has a more hopeful aspect here than 
elsewhere, the institution from a moral point of view has 
some of its most revolting characters in this country, and 
looks, if possible, more odious than it did in the States. 
The other day, in the neighborhood of Rio, I had an 
opportunity of seeing a marriage between two negroes, 
whose owner made the religious, or, as it appeared to 
me on this occasion, irreligious ceremony, obligatory. The 
6 * i • 



130 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



bride, who was as black as jet, was dressed in white muslin, 
with a veil of coarse white lace, such as the negro women 
make themselves, and the husband was in a white linen 
suit. She looked, and I think she really felt, diffident, 
for there were a good many strangers present, and her 
position was embarrassing. The Portuguese priest, a bold, 
insolent-looking man, called them up and rattled over 
the marriage service with most irreverent speed, stopping 
now and then to scold them both, but especially the woman, 
because she did not speak loud enough and did not take the 
whole thing in the same coarse, rough way that he did. 
When he ordered them to come up and kneel at the 
altar, his tone was more suggestive of cursing than pray- 
ing, and having uttered his blessing he hurled an amen 
at them, slammed the prayer-book down on the altar, 
whiffed out the candles, and turned the bride and bride- 
groom out of the chapel with as little ceremony as one 
would have kicked out a dog. As the bride came out, 
half crying, half smiling, her mother met her and show- 
ered her with rose-leaves, and so this act of consecration, 
in which the mother's benediction seemed the only grace, 
was over. I thought what a strange confusion there must 
be in these poor creature's minds, if they thought about 
it at all. They are told that the relation between man 
and wife is a sin, unless confirmed by the sacred rite of 
marriage ; they come to hear a bad man gabble over them 
words which they cannot understand, mingled with taunts 
and abuse which they understand only too well, and side 
by side with their own children grow up the little fair- 
skinned slaves to tell them practically that the white man 
does not keep himself the law he imposes on them. What 
a monstrous lie the whole system must seem to them if they 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA. 



131 



are ever led to think about it at all. I am far from sup- 
posing that the instance I have given should be taken as 
representing the state of religious instruction on planta- 
tions generally. No doubt there are good priests who 
improve and instruct their black parishioners ; but it does 
not follow because religious services are provided on a 
plantation, the ceremony of marriage observed, &c, that 
there is anything which deserves the name of religious 
instruction. It would be unjust not to add the better 
side of the question in this particular instance. The man 
was free, and I was told that the woman received her 
liberty and a piece of land from her master as her 
marriage dower. 

We arrived at Macei6 this morning, and went on shore 
with Mr. Sinimbu, who leaves us here, and with whose 
family we passed a delightful day, welcomed with that 
hearty cordiality so characteristic of Brazilians in their 
own homes. Although our stay was so short, a consid- 
erable addition was made here to the collections. On 
arriving at any port the party disperses at once, the 
young men going in different directions to collect, Mr. 
Bourget hurrying to the fish-market to see what may 
be found there of interest, and Mr. Agassiz and Mr. 
Coutinho generally making a geological excursion. In 
this way, though the steamer remains but a few hours 
at each station, the time is not lost. 

July 31st. — Pernambuco. Arrived to-day off Pernam- 
buco, and were too happy, after a stormy night, to find 
ourselves behind the famous reef which makes such a 
}uiet harbor at this port. Our countryman, Mr. Hitch, 
met us on landing, and drove us at once out to his 
" chacara," (country place,) where it was delightful to 



132 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



be welcomed, like old friends, to an American home.* 
Pernambuco is by no means so picturesque as Bahia or 
Rio de Janeiro. It has a more modern air than either 
of these, but looks also more cleanly and more prosper- 
ous. Many of the streets are wide, and the river running 
through the business part of the city, crossed by broad, 
handsome bridges, is itself suggestive of freshness. The 
country is more open and flat than farther south. In 
our afternoon drive some of the views across wide, level 
meadows, if we could have put elms here and there in 
the place of palms, would have reminded us of scenery at 
home. 

August 2d. — Yesterday we left Pernambuco, and this 
morning found ourselves at the mouth of the Parahyba 
do Norte, a broad, beautiful river, up which we steamed 
to within a few miles of the little town bearing the same 
name. Here we took a boat and rowed to the city, where 
we spent some hours in rambling about, collecting speci- 
mens, examining drift formations, &c. In the course of 
our excursion we fell in with some friends of Major Cou- 
tinho's, who took us home with them to an excellent 
breakfast of fresh fish, with bread, coffee, and wine. The 
bread is to be noticed here, for it is said to be the best 
in Brazil. The flour is the same as elsewhere, and the 
people generally attribute the superiority of their bread to 
some quality of the water. Whatever be the cause, there 
is no bread in all Brazil so sweet, so light, and so white as 
that of Parahyba do Norte. 

August 5th. — We arrived yesterday at Ceara, where we 
were warmly welcomed and most hospitably entertained 

* Mr. Agassiz was indebted to Mr. Hitch for valuable additions to his 
collections, and for many acts of kindness in behalf of the expedition. 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA. 



133 



at the house of Dr. Mendes, an old acquaintance of Major 
Coutinho. It was blowing hard and raining when we left 
the steamer ; our boat put into the beach in a heavy surf, 
and I was wondering how I should reach the shore, when 
two of our negro rowers jumped into the water, and, stand- 
ing at the side of the boat behind me, motioned me to 
come, crossing their arms basket-fashion ; as we do some- 
times to carry children. They looked as if it were the or- 
dinary mode of conveyance, so I seated myself, and with 
one arm around the neck of each of my black bearers, 
they laughing as heartily as I did, I was landed trium- 
phantly on the sands. After the first greetings at the house 
of Dr. Mendes were over, we were offered the luxury of 
a bath before breakfast. The bath is a very important 
feature in a Brazilian household. This one was of the size 
of a small room, the water (about two feet deep and of a 
delicious, soft, velvety character) constantly flowing through 
over the smooth sand floor. They are often larger than 
this, from four to five feet deep, and sometimes lined 
with blue and white tiles, which make a very clean and 
pretty floor. It is a great luxury in this warm climate, 
and many persons bathe several times a day. The bath- 
house is usually in the garden, at a convenient distance 
from the house, but not immediately adjoining it. The 
bath was followed by an excellent breakfast, after which 
we drove through the city. Cear& is a wonderfully pro- 
gressive town for Brazil. Five years ago it had not a 
paved street ; now all the streets are well paved, with 
good sidewalks, and the city is very carefully laid out, 
with a view to its future growth * To-day we are again 

* Here, as elsewhere, I found ready and willing coadjutors among ama- 
teur collectors. On my return from the Amazons, many months later, I found 



134 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



coasting along within sight of land, with a quiet sea and 
a delicious breeze. The ocean is covered with white caps, 
and of a very peculiar greenish, aquamarine tint, the same 
which I observed as soon as we reached these latitudes in 
coming out. This singular color is said to be owing to 
the nature of the sea bottom and the shallowness of the 
water, combined, farther north, with the admixture of fresh 
water along the coast. 

August 6th. — Arrived early this morning before Maran- 
ham, and went on shore to breakfast at the hotel ; for, won- 
derful to relate, Maranham possesses a hotel, a great rarity in 
many Brazilian towns. We passed the greater part of the day 
in driving about the city with Dr. Braga, who kindly under- 
took to show us everything of interest.* The town and 
harbor are very pretty, the city itself standing on an island, 
formed by two bays running up on either side and enclosing 
it. The surrounding country is flat and very thickly wood- 
ed, though the woods are rather low. Here, at the house of 
Dr. Braga's brother-in-law, we saw, for the first time, the 
slender, graceful Assai palm, from which the drink is made 
so much appreciated in Para and on the Lower Amazons. 
It is curious to see the negroes go up the tree to gather 

collections made in ray absence by Dr. Mendes and Senhor Barroso, who 
had been our companions on board the steamer. At Parahyba do Norte I 
was indebted in the same way to Dr. Justa. These collections will afford in- 
valuable materials for the comparison of the Coast Faunas. — L. A. 

* At a later period I owed to Dr. Braga far more than the ordinary courtesy 
extended to a stranger. I had informed him that Mr. St. John, then following 
the course of the Rio San Francisco, on his way to the province of Piauhy, 
would arrive in Maranham at the close of his journey. When he reached that 
city he was very seriously ill with fever. Dr. Braga took him into his house, 
where he was attended by him and his family as if he had been one of their kin- 
dred. I have, indeed, little doubt that my young friend owed his recovery to 
the considerate care with which he was treated under their kindly roof. — L. A. 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA. 



135 



the fruit. The trunk is perfectly smooth, the fruit growing 
in a heavy cluster of berries, just below the crown of leaves 
on its summit. The negro fastens a cord or a strip of palm- 
leaf around his insteps, thus binding his feet together that 
they may not slide apart on the smooth stem, and by means 
of this kind of stirrup he contrives to cling to the slippery 
trunk and scramble up. 

We were much interested in seeing here an admirably 
well conducted institution for the education of poor or- 
phans. Its chief aim is to educate them, not as scholars, 
though they receive elementary instruction in reading, 
writing, and ciphering, but to teach them a variety of 
occupations by which they can earn an honest livelihood. 
They are trained in several trades, are taught to play on 
a number of instruments, and there is also a school of 
design connected with the establishment. A faultless or- 
der and scrupulous neatness prevailed through the whole 
building, which was not the result of an exceptional prep- 
aration, since our visit was wholly unexpected. This sur- 
prised us the more, because, notwithstanding their fond- 
ness for bathing, order and neatness in their houses are 
not a virtue among the Brazilians. This may be owing to 
slave labor, — rarely anything better than eye-service. The 
large dormitories looked fresh and airy, with the hammocks 
rolled up and laid on a shelf, each one above the peg to 
which it belonged ; the shoes were hung on nails along 
the walls, and the little trunks, holding the clothing of 
each scholar, were neatly arranged beneath them. On the 
upper story was the hospital, a large, well-ventilated room, 
with numerous windows commanding beautiful views, and 
a cool breeze blowing through it. Here were cots instead 
of hammocks, but I thought the sick boys might prefer 



136 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



the swinging, cradle-like beds to which they were accus- 
tomed, and which they evidently find very comfortable. 
When Mr. Agassiz remarked, as we passed through the 
dormitory, that sleeping in a hammock was an experience 
he had yet to make, one of the boys took his down from 
the shelf, and, hanging it up, laughingly threw himself 
into it, with a lazy ease which looked quite enviable. The 
kitchen and grocery rooms were as neat as the rest of the 
house, and the simplicity of the whole establishment, while 
it admitted everything necessary for comfort and health, 
was well adapted for its objects. A pretty little chapel 
adjoined the house, and the house itself was built around 
an open square planted with trees, — a pleasant playground 
for the boys, who have their music there in the evening. 
On our return to town we heard that, owing to the break- 
age of some part of the machinery, the steamer would be 
detained in this port for a couple of days. We have, how- 
ever, returned to our quarters on board, preferring to spend 
the night on the water rather than in the hot, close town. 

August 7th. — To-day we have all been interested in 
watching the beautiful Medusae swept along by the tide, so 
close to the side of the steamer that they could easily be 
reached from the stairway. We have now quite a number 
disposed about the deck in buckets and basins, and Mr. 
Burkhardt is making colored sketches of them. They are 
very beautiful, and quite new to Mr. Agassiz. In some 
the disk has a brown tracery like seaweed over it, while 
its edge is deeply lobed, every lobe being tinged with an 
intensely brilliant dark blue ; the lobes are divided into 
eight sets of four each, making thirty-two in all, and an 
eye is placed on the margin between each set ; the tubes 
running to the eyes are much larger than those in the in- 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA. 



137 



tervals between, and the network of vessels on the margin is 
wonderfully fine and delicate ; the curtains hanging from the 
mouth are white and closely fringed with full flounces, some- 
what like our Aurelia. The movement is quick, the margin 
of the disk beating with short, rapid pants. Another is alto- 
gether brown and white, the seaweed-like pattern being car- 
ried down to the edge of the lobes, and the lobes them- 
selves being more delicate than those of the blue-edged one, 
the disk thinning out greatly towards the periphery. The 
brown marks are, however, darker, more distinct, and 
cover a larger space in some specimens than in others.' 
This is also true of those with the blue margin, the 
brown pattern covering the whole disk in some, confined 
to a simple zone around the disk in others, and even 
entirely absent occasionally. Mr. Agassiz inclines to think, 
from the similarity of their other features, however, that, 
notwithstanding their difference of color, they all belong to 
the same species, the variety in coloration being probably 
connected with difference of sex. He has, at any rate, 
ascertained that all the wholly brown specimens caught 
to-day are males. 

We were rejoiced this morning by the sight of our own 
flag coming into harbor. We presently found that the 
ship was the gunboat Nipsic. She had sailed from Boston 
on the 4th of July, and brought papers of a later date than 
any we have seen. The officers were kind enough to send 
us a large bundle of papers, which we have been eagerly 
devouring. 

August 8th. — Another quite new and beautiful Medusa 
to-day. As we were waiting for breakfast this morning a 
number floated past, so dark in color that in the water 
they appeared almost black. Two of our party took a boat 



138 



A JOURNEY IN BEAZIL. 



and went in search of them, but the tide was so swift 
that they swept past like lightning, and one had hardly 
time to point them out before they were gone again. 
However, after many efforts, we succeeded in getting 
one, whose portrait Mr. Burkhardt is now taking. The 
disk is of a chocolate-brown, shading into a darker, more 
velvety hue toward the edge, which is slightly scalloped, 
but not cut up into deep lobes like those of yesterday. 
The eyes, eight in number, are distinctly visible as lighter- 
colored specks on the margin. The appendages hanging 
from the mouth are more solid and not so thickly fringed 
as in those of yesterday. It moves rather slowly in its 
glass prison, the broad margin shading from lighter brown 
to a soft chocolate color almost verging on black, as it flaps 
up and down somewhat languidly, but still with a regular, 
steady pulsation.* 

August 9th. — We passed yesterday afternoon with the 
Braga family in town. The weather was charming, a 
cool breeze blowing through the veranda where we dined. 
There were a number of guests to meet us, and we had 
again cause to acknowledge how completely the stranger 
is made to feel himself at home among these hospitable 
people. We sailed this morning, Mr. Agassiz taking with 
him a valuable collection, though our time was so short. 
The fact is, that, not only here, but at every town where 
we have stopped in coming up the coast, the ready, cordial 
desire of the people to help in the work has enabled him 
to get together collections which it would otherwise have 
been impossible to make in so short a time. If he is 

* These two Medusas belong to the Rhizostomidas, and I shall take an early 
opportunity to publish a description of them, with the drawings of Mr. Burk- 
hardt. — L. A. 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA'. 139 

unexpectedly successful in this expedition, it is as much 
owing to the active sympathy of the Brazilians themselves, 
and to their interest in the objects he has so much at heart, 
as to the efforts of himself and his companions. 

August 11th. — Para. Early yesterday morning, a few 
yellowish patches staining the ocean here and there gave us 
our first glimpse of the water of the Amazons. Presently 
the patches became broad streaks, the fresh waters encroach- 
ing gradually upon the sea, until, at about ten o'clock, we 
fairly entered the mouth of the river, though, as the shores 
are some hundred and fifty miles apart, we might have 
believed ourselves on the broad ocean. As we neared the 
city, the numerous islands closing up about Pard and 
sheltering its harbor limited the view and broke the enor- 
mous expanse of the fresh-water basin. We anchored 
off the city at about three o'clock, but a heavy thunder- 
shower, with violent rain, prevented us from going on 
shore till the next morning. None of the party landed 
except Major Coutinho. He went to announce our arrival 
to his friend, Mr. Pimenta Bueno, who has kindly invited 
us to make his house our home while we stay in Para. 
The next morning was beautiful after the rain, and at seven 
o'clock two boats were sent to take us and our effects on 
shore. On landing we went at once to Mr. Pimenta's 
large business establishment near the wharves. Here he 
has provided several excellent working-rooms to serve as 
laboratories and storage-places for the specimens, and be- 
sides these a number of airy, cool chambers on the floor 
above, for the accommodation of our companions, who 
have already slung their hammocks, arranged their ef- 
fects, and are keeping a kind of bachelor's hall. Having 
disposed of the scientific apparatus, we drove out to Mr. 



140 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Pimenta's " chacara," some two miles out of town, on 
the Rua de Nazareth, where we were received with the 
utmost kindness. Mr. Agassiz and Major Coutinho soon 
returned to town, where no time is to be lost in begin- 
ning work at the laboratory. I remained at home and 
passed a pleasant morning with the ladies of the family, 
who made me acquainted with the peculiar beverage so 
famous in these regions, prepared from the berries of 
the Assai palm. They are about the size of cranberries, 
and of a dark-brown color. Being boiled and crushed 
they yield a quantity of juice, which when strained has 
about the consistency of chocolate, and is of a dark purplish 
tint like blackberry juice. It has a sweetish taste, and is 
very nice eaten with sugar and the crisp " farinha d'agua," 
a kind of coarse flour made from the mandioca root. 
People of all classes throughout the province of Pard 
are exceedingly fond of this beverage, and in the city 
they have a proverb which runs thus : — 
" Who visits Para is glad to stay, 
Who drinks Assai goes never away.' 

August 12th. — This morning we rose early and walked 
into town. Great pains have been taken with the environs 
of Par&, and the Rua de Nazareth is one of the broad 
streets leading into the country, and planted with large 
trees (chiefly mangueiras) for two or three miles out of 
town. On our way we saw a lofty palm-tree completely 
overpowered and stifled in the embrace of an enormous 
parasite. So luxuriant is the growth of the latter that 
you do not perceive, till it is pointed out to you, that its 
spreading branches and thick foliage completely hide the 
tree from which it derives its life ; only from the extreme 
summit a few fan-like palm-leaves shoot upwards as if 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA. 



141 



trying to escape into the air and light. The palm cannot 
long survive, however, and with its death it seals the doom 
of its murderer also. There is another evidence, and a 
more pleasing one, of the luxuriance of nature on this 
same road. The skeleton of a house stands by the way- 
side ; whether a ruin or unfinished, I am unable to say, 
but at all events only the walls are standing, with the 
openings for doors and windows. Nature has completed 
this imperfect dwelling ; — she has covered it over with 
a green roof, she has planted the empty enclosure with 
a garden of her own choosing, she has trained vines around 
the open doors and windows ; and the deserted house, if it 
has no other inmates, is at least a home for the birds. 
It makes a very pretty picture. I never pass it without 
wishing for a sketch of it. On our arrival in town we 
went at once to the market. It is very near the water, 
and we were much amused in watching the Indian canoes 
at the landing. The " montaria," as the Indian calls his 
canoe, is a long, narrow boat, covered at one end with 
a thatched roof, under which is the living-room of the 
family. Here the Indian has his home ; wife and children, 
hammock, cooking utensils, — all his household goods, in 
fact. In some of the boats the women were preparing break- 
fast, cooking the coffee or the tapioca over a pan of coals. 
In others they were selling the coarse pottery, which they 
make into all kinds of utensils, sometimes of quite grace- 
ful, pretty forms. We afterwards went through the mar- 
ket. It is quite large and neatly kept ; but the Brazilian 
markets are only good as compared with each other. 
The meats are generally poor ; there is little game to be 
seen ; they have no variety of vegetables, which might be 
so easily cultivated here, and even the display of fruit 



142 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



in the market is by no means what one would expect it 
to be. To-night Mr. Agassiz goes off with a party of 
gentlemen on an excursion to some of the islands in the 
harbor. This first expedition in the neighborhood of Para, 
from which the Professor promises himself much pleasure, 
is planned by Dr. Couto de Magalhaes, President of the 
Province.* 

August 14$. — We are very agreeably surprised in the 
climate here. I had expected from the moment of our 
arrival in the region of the Amazons to be gasping in a 
fierce, unintermitting, intolerable heat. On the con- 
trary, the mornings are fresh ; a walk or ride between 
six and eight o'clock is always delightful ; and though 
during the middle of the day the heat is certainly very 
great, it cools off again towards four o'clock ; the even- 
ings are delightful, and the nights always comfortable. 
Even in the hottest part of the day the heat is not dead ; 
there is always a breeze stirring. Mr. Agassiz returned 
this afternoon from his excursion in the harbor, more 
deeply impressed than ever with the grandeur of this 
entrance to the Amazons and the beauty of its many 
islands, " An archipelago of islands," as he says, " in an 
ocean of fresh water." He describes the mode of fishing 
of the Indians as curious. They row very softly up the 

* To Dr. Couto de Magalhaes Mr. Agassiz was indebted for unremitting 
attentions during our stay in the region of the Amazons. He never failed to 
facilitate the success of the expedition by every means in his power, and the 
large collections made under his directions during our sojourn upon the 
Upper Amazons were among the most valuable contributions to its scientific 
results. When he heard that Mr. Ward, one of our young companions, was 
coming down the Tocantins, he sent a boat and boatmen to meet him, and 
on his arrival in Para received him in his own house, where he remained his 
guest during his stay in the city. 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA'. 



143 



creek, having first fastened the seine across from shore 
to shore at a lower point, and when they have gained 
a certain distance above it, they spring into the water 
with a great plash and rush down the creek in a line, 
driving the fish before them into the net. One draught 
alone filled the boat half full of fish. Mr. Agassiz was 
especially interested in seeing alive for the first time the 
curious fish called " Tralhote" by the Indians, and known 
to naturalists as the Anableps tetrophthalmus. This name, 
signifying " four-eyed," is derived from the singular struc- 
ture of the eye. A membranous fold enclosing the bulb of 
the eye stretches across the pupil, dividing the visual 
apparatus into an upper and lower half. No doubt this 
formation is intended to suit the peculiar habits of the 
Anableps. These fishes gather in shoals on the surface 
of the water, their heads resting partly above, partly below 
the surface, and they move by a leaping motion somewhat 
like that of frogs on land. Thus, half in air, half in water, 
they require eyes adapted for seeing in both elements, and 
the arrangement described above just meets this want. 

August 19th. — To-night #t ten o'clock we go on board 
the steamer, and before dawn shall be on our way up 
the river. This has been a delicious week of rest and 
refreshment to me. The quiet country life, with morning 
walks in the fresh, fragrant lanes and roads immediately 
about us, has been very soothing after four months of 
travel or of noisy hotel life. The other day as we were 
going into town we found in the wet grass by the road- 
side one of the most beautiful mushrooms I have ever 
seen. The stem was pure white, three or four inches in 
height, and about half an inch in diameter, surmounted by 
a club-shaped head, brown in color, with a blunt point, 



144 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



and from the base of this head was suspended an open 
white net of exquisitely delicate texture, falling to within 
about an inch of the ground ; a fairy web that looked fit 
for Queen Mab herself.* The week, so peaceful for me, has 
been one, if not of rest, at least of intense interest for Mr. 
Agassiz. The very day of his arrival, by the kindness 
of our host, his working-rooms were so arranged as to 
make an admirable laboratory, and, from the hour he 
entered them, specimens have poured in upon him from 
all quarters. His own party make but a small part of 
the scientific corps who have worked for and with him 
here. In Pard alone he has already more than fifty new 
species of fresh-water fishes ; enough to reveal unexpected 
and novel relations in the finny world, and to give the basis 
of an improved classification. He is far from attributing 
this great success wholly to his own efforts. Ready as he 
is to work, he could not accomplish half that he does, except 
for the active good-will of those about him. Among the 
most valuable of these contributions is a collection made 
by Mr. Pimenta Bueno, of the so-called fishes of the forest. 
When the waters overflow after the rainy season and fill 
the forest for a considerable distance on either side, these 
fish hover over the depressions and hollows, and as the 
waters subside are left in the pools and channels. They 
do not occur in the open river, but are always found in 

* This mushroom belongs to the genus Phallus, and seems to be an unde- 
scribed species. I preserved it in alcohol, but was unable to have any draw- 
ing made from it before its beauty and freshness were quite gone. In the early 
morning, while the grass was still damp, we often found a peculiar snail, a spe- 
cies of Bulimus, creeping by the roadside. The form of the anterior part of 
the foot was unlike that of any species known thus far from this group. Such 
facts show the desirableness of making drawings from the soft parts of these 
animals as well as from their solid envelopes. — L. A. 



* 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA. 



145 



these forest retreats, and go by the name of the " Peixe do 
Mato." 

Mr. Agassiz has not only to acknowledge the untiring 
kindness of individuals here, but also the cordial expression 
of sympathy from public bodies in the objects of the expe- 
dition. A committee from the municipality of the city has 
waited upon him to express the general satisfaction in the 
undertaking, and he has received a public demonstration 
of the same kind from the college. The bishop of the 
province and his coadjutor have also been most cordial in 
offers of assistance. Nor does the interest thus expressed 
evaporate in empty words. Mr. Pimenta Bueno is director 
of the Brazilian line of steamers from Pard to Tabatinga.* 
The trip to Manaos, at the mouth of the Rio Negro, is 
generally made in five days, allowing only for stoppages 
of an hour or two at different stations, to take or leave 
passengers and to deposit or receive merchandise. In order 
that we may be perfectly independent, however, and stop 
wherever it seems desirable to make collections, the com- 
pany places at our disposition a steamer for one month 
between Para and Manaos. There are to be no passen- 
gers but ourselves, and the steamer is provided with 
everything necessary for the whole company during that 
period, — food, service, &c. I think it may fairly be said 
that in no part of the world could a private scientific un- 
dertaking be greeted with more cordiality or receive a more 
liberal hospitality than has been accorded to the present 

* The President of this line is the Baron de Maza, esteemed by his country- 
men as a financier of great ability and a man of rare energy, perseverance, and 
patriotism. As he was in Europe during tbe year of my visit to Brazil, I had 
not the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with him, and I therefore welcome 
this opportunity of thanking him for the liberality sbown in all their dealings 
with me by the company of which he is the moving spirit. — L. A. 

7 * J 



146 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



expedition. I dwell upon these things and recur to them 
often, not in any spirit of egotism, but because it is due 
to the character of the people from whom they come to 
make the fullest acknowledgment of their generosity. 

While Mr. Agassiz has been busy with the zoological 
collections, Major Coutinho has been no less so in making 
geological, meteorological, and hydrographic investigations. 
His regular co-operation is invaluable, and Mr. Agassiz 
blesses the day when their chance meeting at the Palace 
suggested the idea of his joining the expedition. Not 
only his scientific attainments, but his knowledge of the 
Indian language (lingua geraT), and his familiarity with 
the people, make him a most important coadjutor. With 
his aid Mr. Agassiz has already opened a sort of scien- 
tific log-book, in which, by the side of the scientific name 
of every specimen entered by the Professor, Major Cou- 
tinho records its popular local name, obtained from the 
Indians, with all they can tell of its haunts and habits. 

I have said nothing of Mr. Agassiz' s observations on the 
character of the soil since we left Rio, thinking it best 
to give them as a whole. Along the entire length of the 
coast he has followed the drift, examining it carefully at 
every station. At Bahia it contained fewer large boulders 
than in Rio, but was full of small pebbles, and rested 
upon undecomposed stratified rock. At Maceio, the cap- 
ital of the province of Alagoas, it was the same, but 
resting upon decomposed rock, as at Tijuca. Below this 
was a bed of stratified clay, containing small pebbles. 
In Pernambuco, on our drive to the great aqueduct, we 
followed it for the whole way ; the same red clayey ho- 
mogeneous paste, resting there on decomposed rock. The . 
line of contact at Monteiro, the aqueduct station, was very 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PAKA 



147 



clearly marked, however, by an intervening bed of pebbles. 
At Parahyba do Norte the same sheet of drift, but con- * 
taining more and larger pebbles, rests above a decomposed 
sandstone somewhat resembling the decomposed rock of 
Pernambuco. In the undecomposed rock below, Mr. Ag- 
assiz found some fossil shells. In the neighborhood of 
Cape St. Roque we came upon sand-dunes resembling 
those of Cape Cod, and wherever we sailed near enough 
to the shore to see the banks distinctly, as was frequently 
the case, the bed of drift below the shifting superficial 
sands above was distinctly noticeable. The difference in 
color between the white sand and the reddish soil beneath 
made it easy to perceive their relations. At Ceara, where 
we landed, Mr. Agassiz had an opportunity of satisfying 
himself of this by closer examination. At Maranham 
the drift is everywhere conspicuous, and at Par& equally 
so. This sheet of drift which he has thus followed from 
Rio de Janeiro to the mouth of the Amazons is every- 
where of the same geological constitution. It is always 
a homogeneous clayey paste of a reddish color, containing 
quartz pebbles ; and, whatever be the character of the rock 
in place, whether granite, sandstone, gneiss, or lime, the 
character of the drift never changes or partakes of that 
of the rocks with which it is in contact. This certainly 
proves that, whatever be its origin, it cannot be referred 
to the localities where it is now found, but must have 
been brought from a distance. Whoever shall track it 
back to the place where this peculiar red soil with its 
constituent elements forms the primitive rock, will have 
solved the problem. I introduce here a letter written 
by Mr. Agassiz, a few days later, to the Emperor, which 
will better give his views on the subject. 



148 



A JOURNEY LN BRAZIL. 



A BORD DE L'lCAMIABA, SUE L'AmAZONE, 

le 20 Aout, 1865. 

Sire: — Permettez moi de rendre un compte rapid e a 
Yotre Majeste, de ce que j'ai observe* de plus inter essant 
depuis mon depart de Rio. La premiere chose qui m'a 
frappe* en arrivant a Bahia, ce fut d'y trouver le terrain erra- 
tique, comme a la Tijuca et comme dans la partie meridi- 
onale de Minas, que j'ai visitee. Ici comme la, ce terrain, 
d'une constitution identique, repose sur les roches en place 
les plus diversifies. Je l'ai retrouve* de meme a Maceio, 
a Pernambuco, a Parahyba do Norte, a Ceara, a Maranham, 
et au Para. Yoila done un fait etabli sur la plus grande 
echelle ! Cela demontre que les mate'riaux superficiels, 
que Ton pourrait designer du nom do drift, ici comme 
dans le Nord de l'Europe et de l'Amerique, ne sauraient 
etre le resultat de la decomposition des roches sous-jacentes, 
puisque celles-ci sont tantot du granit, tan tot du gneiss, 
tan tor. du schiste micace ou talqueux, tant6t du gres, tandis 
que le drift offre partout la meme composition. Je n'en 
suis pas moins aussi eloigne que jamais de pouvoir signaler 
l'origine de ces materiaux et la direction de leur transport. 
Aujourd'hui que le Major Coutinho a appris a distinguer 
le drift des roches decomposers, il m'assure que nous le 
retrouverons dans toute la vallee de l'Amazone. L'imagi- 
nation la plus hardie recule devant toute esp^ce de genera- 
lisation a ce sujet. Et pourtant, il faudra bien en venir 
a se familiariser avec l'idee que la cause qui a disperse* 
ces materiaux, quelle qu'elle soit, a agi sur la plus 
grande e"chelle, puisqu'on les retrouvera probablement sur 
tout le continent. Deja j'apprends que mes jeunes com- 
pagnons de voyage ont observe le drift dans les environs 
de Barbacena et d'Ouro-Preto et dans la valine du Rio das 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA. 



149 



Velhas. Mes re*sultats zoologiques ne sont pas moms satis- 
faisants ; et pour ne parler que des poissons, j'ai trouve a 
Par& seulement, pendant une semaine, plus d'especes qu'on 
n'en a de*crit jusqu'a present de tout le bassin de l'Ama- 
zdne ; c. a. d. en tout soixante-trois. Cette etude sera, je 
crois, utile a l'ichthyologie, car j'ai deja pu distinguer cinq 
families nouvelles et dix-huit genres nouveaux et les especes 
inedites ne s'el&vent pas a moins de quarante-neuf. C'est 
une garantie que je ferai encore une riclie moisson, lorsque 
j'entrerai dans le domaine de l'Amazone proprement dit ; 
car je n'ai encore vu qu'un dixi^me des especes fluviatiles 
que Ton connait de ce bassin et les quelques especes marines 
qui remontent jusqu'au Para. Malheureusement M. Burk- 
hardt est malade et je n'ai encore pu faire peindre que 
quatre des especes nouvelles que je me suis procurers, et puis 
pr£s de la moitie n'ont e*te prises qu'en exemplaires uniques. 
II faut absolument qu'a mon retour je fasse un plus long 
sejour au Para pOur remplir ces lacunes. Je suis dans le 
ravissement de la nature grandiose que j'ai sous les yeux. 
Yotre Majesty re*gne sans contredit sur le plus bel empire 
du monde et toutes personelles que soient les attentions que 
je recois partout ou je m'arrete, je ne puis m'empecher 
de croire que n'^tait le caractere g^nereux et hospitalier 
des Bresiliens et l'interet des classes sup^rieures pour le 
progres des sciences et de la civilisation, je n'aurais point 
rencontre* les facility's qui se pressent sous mes pas. C'est 
ainsi que pour me faciliter 1' exploration du fleuve, du Par k 
a Manaos, M. Pimenta Bueno, au lieu de m'acheminer par 
le steamer re*gulier, a mis a ma disposition, pour un mois 
ou six semaines, un des plus beaux bateaux de la compagnie, 
ou je suis instale aussi commodement que dans mon Musee 
a Cambridge. M. Coutinho est plein d'attention et me 



150 



A JOUKNEY IN BRAZIL. 



rend mou travail doublement facile en le preparant & 
l'avance par tous les renseignements possibles. 

Mais je ne veux pas abuser des loisirs de Votre Majeste* 
et je la prie de croire toujours an devouement le pins complet 
et a l'affection la plus respectueuse 

De son tr£s humble et tr£s obeissant serviteur, 

L. Agassiz.* 

* On board the Icamiaba, on the Amazons, 
August 20, 1865. 

Sire : — Allow me to give your Majesty a rapid sketch of the most inter- 
esting facts observed by me since leaving Rio. The first thing which struck me 
on arriving at Bahia was the presence of the erratic soil, corresponding to 
that of Tijuca and the southern part of Minas-Geraes, which I have visited. 
Here, as there, this soil, identical in its constitution, rests upon rocks in 
place, of the most diversified character. I have found it also at Maceio, 
at Pernambuco, at Parahyba do Norte, at Ceara, at Maranham, and at 
Para. This is a fact, then, established on the largest scale. It shows that 
the superficial materials which, here as in the North of Europe and America, 
may be designated as drift, cannot be the result of the decomposition of 
underlying rocks, since the latter are sometimes granite, sometimes gneiss, 
sometimes mica or talcose slate, sometimes sandstone, while the drift presents 
the same composition everywhere. I am as far as ever from being able to 
point out the origin of these materials and the direction of their transporta- 
tion. Now that Major Coutinho has learned to distinguish the drift from 
the decomposed rocks, he assures me that we shall find it throughout the 
valley of the Amazons. The boldest imagination shrinks from any general- 
ization on this subject, and yet we must gradually familiarize ourselves with 
the idea that the cause which has dispersed these materials, whatever it be, 
has acted on the largest scale, since they are probably to be found all over 
the continent. Already I learn that my young travelling companions have 
observed the drift in the environs of Barbacena and Ouro-Preto, and in the 
valley of the Rio das Velhas. My zoological results are not less satisfactory ; 
and to speak of the fishes alone, I have found at Para during one week more 
species than have as yet been described from the whole basin of the Ama- 
zons, — sixty-three in all. This study will be useful, I hope, to ichthyology, 
for I have already succeeded in distinguishing five new families and eighteen 
new genera, while the unpublished species do not number less than forty-nine. 
It is a guaranty of the rich harvest I shall make when I enter upon the 



VOYAGE UP THE COAST TO PARA'. 



151 



domain of the Amazons properly so called ; for I have seen as yet but a tenth 
part of the fluviatile species known from this basin, and some of the marine 
species which come up to Para. Unhappily, Mr. Burkhardt is ill, and has been 
able to paint but four of the new species we have procured ; and of nearly 
half the number, only single specimens have been secured. On my return 
I must make a longer stay in Para in order to fill these deficiencies. I am 
enchanted with the grandeur of nature here. Your Majesty certainly reigns 
over the most beautiful empire of the world ; and, personal as are the atten- 
tions which I receive wherever I stop, I cannot but believe that, were it not for 
the generous and hospitable character of the Brazilians and the interest of the 
higher classes in the progress of science and civilization, I should not have 
met with the facilities which crowd my path. Thus, in order to render the 
exploration of the river from Para to Manaos more easy, Mr. Pimenta Bueno, 
instead of allowing me to take the regular steamer, has put at my disposition, 
for a month or six weeks, one of the finest boats of the company, where I am 
installed as conveniently as in my Museum at Cambridge. Mr. Coutinho is 
full of attention, and renders my work doubly light by procuring, in advance, 
all the information possible. But I will not further abuse your Majesty's 
leisure, only begging you to believe in the complete devotion and respectful 
affection of 

Your humble and obedient servant, 

L. Agassiz. 



152 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTEK V. 

FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 

First Sunday on the Amazons. — Geographical. Question. — Convenient 
Arrangements of Steamer. — Vast Dimensions of the River. — Aspect 
of Shores. — Village of Breves. — Letter about Collections. — Vege- 
tation. — Variety of Palms. — Settlement of Tajapuru. — Enormous 
Size of Leaves of the Miriti Palm. — Walk on Shore. — Indian Houses. 
— Courtesy of Indians. — Row in the Forest. — Town of Gurupa. — 
River Xingu. — Color of Water. — Town of Porto do Moz. — Flat- 
topped Hills of Almeyrim. — Beautiful Sunset. — Monte Alegre. — 
Character of Scenery and Soil. — Santarem. — Send off Party on 
the River Tapajos. — Continue up the Amazons. — Pastoral Scenes on 
the Banks. — Town of Villa Bella. — Canoe Journey at Night to the 
Lake of Jose Assu. — Esperanca's Cottage. — Picturesque Scene at 
Night. — Success in Collecting. — Indian Life. — Making Farinha. — 
Dance in the Evening. — Howling Monkeys. — Religious Impressions 
of Indians. — Cottage of Maia the Fisherman. — His Interest in edu- 
cating his Children. — Return to Steamer. — Scientific Results of 
the Excursion. 

August 20th. — On board the " Icamiaba." Our first 
Sunday on the Amazons ; for, notwithstanding the warm 
dispute as to whether both the rivers enclosing the island 
of Maraj6 must be considered as parts of the great river, 
it is impossible not to feel from the moment you leave 
Para, that you have entered upon the Amazons. Geology 
must settle this knotty question. If it should be seen 
that the continent once presented an unbroken line, as 
Mr. Agassiz believes, from Cape St. Eoque to Cayenne, 
the sea having encroached upon it so as to give it its 
present limits, the Amazons must originally have entered 
the ocean far to the east of its present mouth, at a time 
when the Island of Marajo divided the river in two channels 
flowing on either side of it and uniting again beyond it. 



FKOM PAEA TO MANAOS. 



153 



We came on board last night, accompanied to the boat by 
a number of the friends who have made our sojourn in 
Para so agreeable, and who came off to bid us farewell. 
Thus far the hardships of this South American journey 
seem to retreat at our approach. It is impossible to travel 
with greater comfort than surrounds us here. My own 
suite of rooms consists of a good-sized state-room, with 
dressing-room and bath-room adjoining, and, if the others 
are not quite so luxuriously accommodated, they have 
space enough. The state-rooms are hardly used at night, 
for a hammock on deck is far more comfortable in this 
climate. Our deck, roofed in for its whole length, and 
with an awning to let down on the sides, if needed, looks 
like a comfortable, unceremonious sitting-room. A table 
down the middle serving as a dinner-table, but which is at 
this moment strewn with maps, journals, books, and papers 
of all sorts, two or three lounging-chairs, a number of camp- 
stools, and half a dozen hammocks, in one or two of which 
some of the party are taking their ease, furnish our drawing- 
room, and supply all that is needed for work and rest. At 
one end is also a drawing-table for Mr. Burkhardt, beside a 
number of kegs and glass jars for specimens. This first day, 
however, it is almost impossible to do more than look and 
wonder. Mr. Agassiz says : 44 This river is not like a river ; 
the general current in such a sea of fresh water is hardly 
perceptible to the sight, and seems more like the flow of 
an ocean than like that of an inland stream." It is true 
we are constantly between shores, but they are shores, not 
of the river itself, but of the countless islands scattered 
throughout its enormous breadth. As we coast along 
their banks, it is delightful to watch the exquisite vege- 
tation with which we have yet to become familiar. The 



154 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



tree which most immediately strikes the eye, and stands 
out from the mass of green with wonderful grace and 
majesty, is the lofty, slender Assai palm, with its crown 
of light plume-like leaves, and its bunches of berry-like 
fruit, hanging from a branch that shoots out almost hori- 
zontally, just below the leaves. Houses on the shore 
break the solitude here and there. From this distance 
they look picturesque, with thatched, overhanging roofs, 
covering a kind of open porch. Just now we passed a 
cleared nook at the water-side, where a wooden cross 
marked a single mound. What a lonely grave it seemed ! 
We are now coasting along the Isle of Maraj6, keeping up 
the so-called Par& river ; we shall not enter the undisputed 
waters of the Amazons till the day after to-morrow. This 
part of the river goes also by the name of the Bay of Maraj6. 

August 21st. — Last evening we stopped at our first sta- 
tion, — the little town of Breves. Its population, like that 
of all these small settlements on the Lower Amazons, is 
made up of an amalgamation of races. You see the regu- 
lar features and fair skin of the white man combined with 
the black, coarse, straight hair of the Indian, or the mulatto 
with partly negro, partly Indian features, but the crisp taken 
out of the hair ; and with these combinations comes in the 
pure Indian type, with its low brow, square build of face, 
and straight line of the shoulders. In the women especially 
the shoulders are rather high. In the first house we en- 
tered there was only an old half-breed Indianwoman, stand- 
ing in the broad open porch of her thatched home, where 
she seemed to be surrounded with live stock, — parrots and 
parroquets of all sorts and sizes, which she kept for sale. 
After looking in at several of the houses, buying one or two 
monkeys, some parroquets, and some articles of the village 



FEOM PARA TO MANAOS. 



155 



pottery, as ugly, I must say, as they were curious, we 
wandered up into the forest to gather plants for dry- 
ing. The palms are more abundant, larger, and in great- 
er variety than we have seen them hitherto. At dusk 
we returned to the steamer, where we found a crowd 
of little boys and some older members of the village 
population, with snakes, fishes, insects, monkeys, &c. 
The news had spread that the collecting of " bixos " 
was the object of this visit to their settlement, and all 
were thronging in with their live wares of different kinds. 
Mr. Agassiz was very much pleased with this first harvest. 
He added a considerable number of new species to his 
collection of Amazonian fishes made in Para, already so 
full and rare. We remained at the Breves landing all 
night, and this morning we are steaming along between 
islands, in a channel which bears the name of the river 
Aturia. It gives an idea of the grandeur of the Amazons, 
that many of the channels dividing the islands by which 
its immense breadth is broken are themselves like ample 
rivers, and among the people here are known by distinct 
local names. The banks are flat ; we have seen no cliffs 
as yet, and the beauty of the scenery is wholly in the 
forest. I speak more of the palms than of other trees, 
because they are not to be mistaken, and from their pe- 
culiar port they stand out in bold relief from the mass 
of foliage, often rising above it and sharply defined against 
the sky. There are, however, a host of other trees, the 
names of which are unknown to us as yet, many of which 
I suppose have no place even in botanical nomenclature, 
forming a dense wall of verdure along the banks of the 
river. We have sometimes heard it said that the voyage 
up the Amazons is monotonous ; but to me it seems de- 



V 



156 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



lightful to coast along by these woods, of a character so 
new to us, to get glimpses into their dark depths or into 
a cleared spot with a single stately palm here and there, 
or to catch even the merest glance at the life of the people 
who live in the isolated settlements, consisting only of one or 
two Indian houses by the river-side. We are keeping so 
near to the banks to-day, that we can almost count the 
leaves on the trees, and have an excellent opportunity 
of studying the various kinds of palms. At first the 
Assai was most conspicuous, but now come in a number 
of others. The Miriti (Mauri tia) is one of the most beau- 
tiful, with its pendant clusters of reddish fruit and its 
enormous, spreading, fan-like leaves cut into ribbons, one 
of which Wallace says is a load for a man. The Jupati 
(Rhaphia), with its plume-like leaves, sometimes from forty 
to fifty feet in length, seems, in consequence of its short 
stem, to start almost from the ground. Its vase-like form 
is peculiarly graceful and symmetrical. Then there is the 
Bussu (Manicaria), with stiff, entire leaves, some thirty 
feet in length, more upright and close in their mode of 
growth, and serrated along their edges. The stem of this 
palm also is comparatively short. The banks in this part 
of the river are very generally bordered by two plants 
forming sometimes a sort of hedge along the shore ; name- 
ly, the Aninga (Arum), with large, heart-shaped leaves on 
the summit of tall stems, and the Murici, a lower growth, 
just on the water's edge. We are passing out of the 
so-called river Aturia into another channel of like char- 
acter, the river Tajapuru. In the course of the day we 
shall arrive at a little settlement bearing the same name, 
where is to be our second station. 

August 22d. — Yesterday we passed the day at the set- 



FROM PARA TO MAX A OS. 



157 



tlement mentioned above. It consists only of the house of 
a Brazilian merchant,* who lives here with his family, having 
no neighbors except the inhabitants of a few Indian houses 
in the forest immediately about. One wonders at first what 
should induce a man to isolate himself in this solitude. 
But the India-rubber trade is very productive here. The 
Indians tap the trees as we tap our sugar-maples, and 
give the produce in exchange for various articles of their 
own domestic consumption. Our day at Tajapurd was a 
very successful one in a scientific point of view, and the 
collections were again increased by a number of new 
species. Much as has been said of the number and va- 
riety of fishes in the Amazons, the fauna seems far richer 
than it has been reported. For those of my readers who 
care to follow the scientific progress of the expedition as 
well as the thread of personal adventure, I add here a 
letter on the subject, written a day or two later by Mr. 
Agassiz to Mr. Pimenta Bueno, in Pard, the generous 
friend to whom he owes in a great degree the facilities 
he enjoys in this voyage. 

22 Aout, an matin: entre Tajapuni et Gurupa. 

Mon cher Ami : — La journee d'hier a ete des plus 
instructives, surtout pour les poissons " do Mato." Xous 
avons obtenu quinze especes en tout. Sur ce nombre il j 
en a dix nouvelles, quatre qui se trouvent aussi au Para et 
une deja decrite par moi dans le voyage de Spix et Mar- 
tius ; mais ce qu'il y a de plus interessant, c'est la preuve 
que fournissent ces especes, a les prendre dans leur totalite, 
que 1' ensemble des poissons qui habitent les eaux a l'ouest 

* Senhor Sepeda, a most hospitable and courteous gentleman, to whom we 
were indebted then and afterwards for much kindness, and also for valuable 
collections put up during our journey to the Upper Amazons. 



158 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



du groupe d'iles qu'on appelle Marajo, differe de ceux 
des eaux du Rio do Para. La liste des noms que nous 
avons demanded aux Indiens prouve encore que le nombre 
des especes qui se trouvent dans ces localite's est beaucoup 
plus considerable que celui des especes que nous avons 
pu nous procurer ; aussi avons nous laisse* des bocaux a, 
Breves et a Tajapuru pour completer la collection. 

Voici quelques remarques qui vous feront mieux appre- 
cier ces differences, si vous voulez les comparer avec le 
catalogue des espSces du Para que je vous ai laisse. A 
tout prendre, il me parait evident des a present que notre 
voyage fera une revolution dans l'Ichthyologie. Et d'abord, 
le Jacunda de Tajapuru est different des especes du Para : 
de meme l'Acara ; puis nous avons une esp&ce nouvelle de 
Sarapo et une espece nouvelle de Jeju ; une espece nouvelle 
de Rabeca, une espece nouvelle d'Anoja, un genre nouveau 
de Candiru, un genre nouveau de Bagre, un genre nouveau 
d'Acary et une espece nouvelle d'Acary du meme genre 
que celui du Para ; plus une espece nouvelle de Matupirim. 
Ajoutez a ceci une espece d'Aracu deja ddcrite, mais qui ne 
se trouve pas au Para et vous aurez a Tajapuru onze especes 
qui n'existent pas au Para, auxquelles il faut ajouter encore 
quatre especes qui se trouvent a Tajapuru aussi bien qu'au 
Pard, et une qui se trouve au Pard, a Breves, et a Tajapuru. 
En tout vingt esp&ces, dont quinze nouvelles, en deux jours. 
Malheureusement les Indiens ont mal compris nos directions, 
et ne nous ont rapporte qu'un seul exemplaire de chacune 
de ces especes. II reste done beaucoup a faire dans ces 
localites, surtout a en juger d'aprete le catalogue des noms 
recueillis par le Major Coutinho qui renferme vingt-six 
especes "do Mato" et quarante-six " do Rio." II nous en 
manque done au moins cinquante-deux de Tajapuru, meme 



FEOM PARA TO MANAOS. 



159 



a supposer que cette localite* renferme aussi les cinq esp£ces 
de Breves. Yous voyez que nous laisserons encore e'norme'- 
ment a faire a nos successeurs. 

Adieu pour aujourd'hui, votre bien affectione" 

L. Agassiz.* 

* August 22d, morning : between Tajapurii and Gurupa. 
My dear Friend : — Yesterday was a most instructive day, — above all, in 
the "forest fishes." We have obtained fifteen species in all. Out of this num- 
ber ten are new, four are found also in Para, and one has been already described 
by me in the voyage of Spix and Martius ; but what is most interesting is the 
proof furnished by these species, taken in their totality, that the fishes inhabit- 
ing the waters west of the group of islands called Marajd, when considered as 
a whole, differ from those of the Para river. The list of names which we 
have asked from the Indians shows, further, that the number of species found 
in these localities exceeds greatly that which we have been able to procure ; 
for this reason we have left cans at Breves and at Tajapuru in order to complete 
the collection. I add some remarks which will help you to appreciate these 
differences, if you wish to compare them with the catalogue of the Para species 
which I left with you. Considering all, it seems to me already apparent that 
our voyage will make a revolution in Ichthyology. In the first place, the 
Jacunda of Tajapuru is different from those of Para ; so is the Acara ; then 
we have a new species of Sarapo, and also one of Jeju; a new species of Rabeca, 
a new species of Anoja, a new genus of Candiru, a new genus of Bagre, a 
new genus of Acary, and a new species of Acary belonging to the same genus 
as that of Para ; also a new species of Matupirim. Add to this a species 
of Aracu, already described, but which is not found at Para, and you will 
have at Tajapuru eleven species which do not exist at Para, to which must 
be added four species which are found at Tajapuru as well as at Para, and one 
which occurs at Para, Breves, and Tajapuru. In all twenty species, of which 
fifteen are new, in two days. Unhappily, the Indians have misunderstood our 
directions, and have brought us but one specimen of each species. There 
remains, then, much to do in these localities, judging from the catalogue 
of names collected by Major Coutinho, which includes twenty-six species from 
the forest and forty-six from the river. We are still lacking at least fifty-two 
species from Tajapuru, even supposing that this locality contains also the five 
species from Breves. You see that we shall yet leave a large share of the 
work to our successors. 

Adieu for to-day, your affectionate 

L. Agassiz. 



160 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



The Indians here are very skilful in fishing, and instead 
of going to collect, Mr. Agassiz, immediately on arriving 
at any station, sends off several fishermen of the place, 
remaining himself on board to superintend the drawing 
and putting up of the specimens as they arrive.* He 

* The opportunity of watching these fishes in their natural element, and 
keeping many of them alive for hours or days in our glass tanks, was very 
instructive, and suggested comparisons not dreamed of before. Our arrange- 
ments were very convenient ; and as the commander of the steamer allowed me 
to encumber the deck with all sorts of scientific apparatus, I had a number of 
large glass dishes and wooden tubs in which I kept such specimens as I wished 
to investigate with special care and to have drawn from life. One of the most 
striking changes made by J. Miiller, in the classification of the spiny fishes, 
was the separation into a distinct order, under the name of Pharyngognathi, 
of all those in which the pharyngeal bones are soldered together. With these 
the illustrious German anatomist has associated a number of soft-rayed types, 
formerly united with the Pickerels and Herrings, and characterized by the same 
structure. It would thus seem that there is here a definite anatomical character 
easily traceable, by the aid of which a vast number of fishes might be correctly 
classified. But the question at once arises, Are these fishes truly related to one 
another, and so combined in this new order of Pharyngognathi as to include all 
which properly belong with them, and none others ? I think not. I believe that 
Miiller has always placed too much value upon isolated anatomical characters; 
and, while he was undoubtedly one of the greatest anatomists and physiologists 
of our age, he lacked zoological tact. This is especially evident with reference 
to the order of Pharyngognathi, for though the Scomberesoces have fixed pha- 
ryngeals like Chromides, Pomacentrides, Labroids, Holconotes, and Gerrides, 
they have no real affinities with these families. Again, the character assigned 
to this order is not constant even in the typical Pharyngognathi. I have found 
Chromides and Gerrides with movable pharyngeals ; in the genus Cychla they 
are normally so. It is therefore not out of place to state here that the Chro- 
mides of South America are in reality closely related to a group of fishes very 
generally found in the United States, known as Pomotis, Bryttus, Centrarchus, 
etc., and usually referred to the family of Perches, from which they have, 
however, been separated by Dr. Holbrook under the name of Helichthyoids. 
They not only resemble the Chromides in their form, but even in their habits, 
mode of reproduction, peculiar movements, and even in their coloration. 
Cuvier has already shown that Enoplosus is not a member of the family 



FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 



161 



made at Tajapuru a collection of the leaves and fruit of 
palms, of which there were several very beautiful ones 
near the shore. I sat for a long time on the deck watch 
ing an Indian cutting a leaf from a Miriti palm. He was 
sitting in the crotch of a single leaf, as safe and as perfectly 
supported as if he had been on the branch of an oak-tree, 
and it took many blows of his heavy axe to separate the 
leaf at his side which he was trying to bring down. The 
heat during the day was intense, but at about five o'clock 

it became quite cool and R and I strolled on shore. 

Walking here is a peculiar process, and seems rather 
alarming till you become accustomed to it. A great part 
of the land, even far up into the forest, is overflowed, 
and single logs are thrown across the streams and pools, 
over which the inhabitants walk with as much security 
as on a broad road, but which seem anything but safe 
to the new-comer. After we had gone a little way we 
came to an Indian house on the border of the wood. 
Here we were very cordially invited to enter, and had 
again cause to comment on the tidy aspect of the porch, 
which is their general reception-room. A description of 
one of these dwellings will do for all. Their materials are 
drawn from the forest about them. The frames are made 

of Chaetodonts, and I may now add that it is a near relative of the Chromides, 
and should stand by the side of Pterophyllum in a natural system. Monocir- 
rus of Heckel, which I consider as the type of a small family under the name 
of Folhidse, is also closely allied to these, though provided with a barbel, 
and should be placed with Polycentrus side by side with the Chromides and 
Helichthyoids. The manner in which Pterophyllum moves is quite peculiar. 
The profile of the head and the extended anterior margin of the high dorsal 
I are brought on a level, parallel to the surface of the water, when the long 

ventrals and high anal hang down vertically, and the fish progresses slowly by 
the lateral beating of the tail. — L. A. 

K 



162 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



of tall, slender tree-trunks, crossing each other at right 
angles. Between these are woven long palm-leaves, mak- 
ing an admirable thatch, or sometimes the walls are filled 
in with mud. The roof overhangs, covering the wide, 
open porch, which extends the length of one side of the 
house, and is as deep as a good-sized room ; it is usually left 
open on the sides as well as in front. Within, the rest 
of the house is divided off into one or more chambers, 
according to its size. I have not penetrated into these, 
* but can bear testimony to the usual cleanliness and order 
of the outer room. The hard mud-floor is neatly swept, 
there is no litter about, and, except for the mosquitoes, 
I should think it no hardship to sling my hammock for 
the night under the thatched roof of one of these prim- 
itive veranda-like apartments. There is one element 
of dirt common in the houses of our own poor which is ab- 
sent here. Instead of the mass of old musty bedding, a 
nest for vermin, the Indians have their cool hammocks, 
slung from side to side of the room. One feature 
in their mode of building deserves to be mentioned. 
Owing to the submerged state of the ground on which 
they live, the Indians often raise their houses on piles 
sunk in the water. Here we have the old lacustrine 
buildings, so much discussed of late years, reproduced 
for us. One even sees sometimes a little garden lifted 
in this way above the water. 

But to return to our walk. One of the Indians invited 
us to continue our ramble to his house, which he said was 
not far beyond, in the forest. We readily complied, for 
the path he pointed out to us looked tempting in the 
extreme, leading into the depth of the wood. Under 
his guidance we continued for some distance, every now 



FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 



163 



and then crossing one of the forest creeks on the logs. 
Seeing that I was rather timid, he cut for me a long pole, 
with the aid of which I felt quite brave. But at last we 
came to a place where the water was so deep that I could 
not touch bottom with my pole, and as the round log on 
which I was to cross was rather rocking and unsteady, 
I did not dare to advance. I told him, in my imperfect 
Portuguese, that I was afraid. " Nao, mia branca " (No, 
my white) he said, reassuringly ; " nao tern medo " (don't 
be afraid). Then, as if a thought struck him, he motioned 
me to wait, and, going a few steps up the creek, he unloosed 
his boat, brought it down to the spot where we stood, and 
put us across to the opposite shore. Just beyond was his 
pretty, picturesque home, where he showed me his children, 
telling me their ages, and introduced me to his wife. There 
is a natural courtesy about these people which is very at- 
tractive, and which Major Coutinho, who has lived among 
them a great deal, tells me is a general characteristic of 
the Amazonian Indians. When we took leave of them 
and returned to the canoe, I supposed our guide would 
simply put us across to the other shore, a distance of a 
few feet only, as he had done in coming. Instead of that 
he headed the canoe up the creek into the wood. I shall 
never forget that row, the more enchanting that it was 
so unexpected, through the narrow water-path, overarched 
by a solid roof of verdure, and black with shadows ; and 
yet it was not gloomy, for outside, the sun was setting in 
crimson and gold, and its last beams struck in under the 
boughs and lit the interior of the forest with a warm glow. 
Nor shall I easily forget the face of our Indian friend, who 
had welcomed us so warmly to his home, and who evidently 
enjoyed our exclamations of delight and the effect of the 



164 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



surprise he had given us. The creek led by a devour back 
into the river, a few rods above the landing where our 
steamer lay. Our friendly boatman left us at the stair- 
way with a cordial good-by, and many thanks from us at 
parting. 

We left our landing early this morning, and at about 
half past ten turned into the main Amazons. Thus far 
we have been in what is called the Para river, and the 
branches connecting it with the Amazons proper. The pro- 
portions of everything in nature amaze one here, however 
much one may have heard or read about them. For two 
days and nights we have been following the isle of Marajo, 
which, though but an island in the mouth of the Amazons, 
is half as large as Ireland. I add here a second letter from 
Mr. Agassiz to Mr. Pimenta Bueno, giving a short summary 
of his scientific progress. 

Mon cher Ami : — Je suis extenue* de fatigue, mais je ne 
veux pas aller me reposer avant de vous avoir dcrit un 
mot. Hier soir nous avons obtenu vingt-sept esp£ces de 
poissons a Guru pa et ce matin, cinquante-sept a Porto do 
Moz, en tout quatre-vingt-quatre esp&ces en moins de douze 
heures et, sur ce nombre, il y en a cinquante et une nou- 
velles. C'est merveilleux. Je ne puis plus mettre en ordre 
ce qu'on m'apporte au fur et a mesure que cela arrive ; et 
quant a obtenir des dessins colories du tout, il n'en est 
plus question, a moins qu'a notre re tour nous ne passions 
une semaine entiere ici. 

Tout a vous, 

L. Agassiz.* 

* On the Xingu, August 23d, 1865. 
My dear Friend : — I am worn out with fatigue, but I will not go to rest 
before writing you a word. Yesterday evening we obtained twenty-seven 



FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 



165 



August 23d. — Yesterday morning, before reaching the 
little town of Gurupd, we passed a forest of Miriti palms ; 
it is the first time we have seen a palm wood exclusive of 
other trees. In the afternoon we stopped at Gurupd and 
went on shore ; but just as we landed, a violent thunder- 
storm burst upon us with sheets of rain, and we saw little 
of the town except the inside of the house where we took 
shelter. Mr. Agassiz obtained a most valuable collection of 
" forest fishes," containing a number of new species ; the 
Indians enumerate, however, some seventy distinct species 
of forest fishes in this vicinity, so that, notwithstanding his 
success, he leaves much to be done by those who shall come 
after him. We left during the night, and this morning we 
entered the river Xingu, stopping at Porto do Moz. The 
water is very blue and dark as compared with the muddy 
waters of the main river. Here Mr. Agassiz found two 
collections, one of forest fishes, the other of river fishes, 
awaiting him, Mr. Pimenta Bueno having sent messengers 
by the last steamer to a number of ports, desiring that 
collections should be in readiness for him. The harvest 
of this morning, however, was such an one as makes an era 
in the life of a naturalist, for it contained forty-eight new 
species, — more, Mr. Agassiz said, than it had ever fallen 
to his lot to find in the course of a single day. Ever since 
we entered the Amazons the forest seems to me, though 
more luxuriant, less sombre than it did about Rio. It 
is more transparent and more smiling ; one sees into it, 

species of fish at Gurupa and this morning fifty-seven at Porto do Moz, — 
eighty-four species in all, in less than twelve hours, and of this number fifty-one 
are new. It is wonderful. I can no longer put in order what is brought to 
me as fast as it arrives, and as to obtaining colored drawings of all, it is no 
longer possible, unless we pass a whole week here on our return. 

Wholly yours, 

L. Agassiz. 



166 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



and sees the sunshine glimmering through it and lighting 
up its depths. The steamer has just left behind the first 
open land we have passed, - — wide, extensive flats, with 
scarcely a tree, and covered with thick, coarse grass. 

August 24:th. — Yesterday afternoon we saw, on the 
north side of the river, the first elevations of any conse- 
quence one meets on the Amazons, the singular flat-topped 
hills of Almeirim. They are cut off as squarely on the top 
as if levelled with a plane, and divided from each other by 
wide openings, the sides being shaved down with the same 
evenness as the summits. Much has been said about the 
geology of these singular hills, but no one has fairly investi- 
gated it. Yon Martius landed, and ascertained their height 
to be about eight hundred feet above the level of the river, 
but beyond this, no one seems to know anything of their 
real nature. They are generally represented as spurs of the 
higher table-land of Guiana.* Last evening was the most 
beautiful we have seen on the Amazons. We sat on the 
front upper deck as the crimson sun went down, his broad 
red pathway across the water followed presently by the 
pale trembling line of light from the crescent moon above. 
After the sun had vanished, broad rays of rose-color, 
shooting almost to the zenith, still attested his power, 
lending something of their glow also to a great mass of 
white clouds in the east, the reflection of which turned 
the yellow waters of the river to silver, while between 
glory and glory the deep blue sky of night gathered over 
the hills of Almeirim. This morning at dawn we stopped 
at the little settlement of Prainha, but did not land, and 
we are now on our way to Monte Alegre, where we shall 
pass a day and a half. 

* Representations of these hills may he found in the Atlas of Martius and 
in Bates's " Naturalist on the Amazons." 



FEOM PARA TO MANAOS. 



167 



August 25th. — Monte Aldgre. We arrived before this 
town, situated on the north side of the Amazons, at the 
mouth of the river Gurupatuba, yesterday at about mid- 
day, but the heat was so great that I did not go on 
shore till towards evening. The town is situated on the 
summit of a hill sloping rather steeply upward from the 
shore, and it takes its name from a mountain some four 
leagues to the northwest of it. But though the ground 
is more broken and various than we have seen it hitherto, 
the place does not seem to me to deserve its name of 
Monte Alegre (the gay mountain). To me the aspect 
of the country here is, on the contrary, rather sombre ; 
the soil consists everywhere of sand, the forest is low, 
while here and there intervene wide, swampy flats, cov- 
ered with coarse grass. The sand rests above the same 
reddish drift, filled with smooth rounded quartz pebbles, 
that we have followed along our whole road. Here and 
there the pebbles are disposed in undulating lines, as if a 
partial stratification had taken place ; and in some localities 
we saw indications of the drift having been worked over 
by water, though not absolutely stratified. Both at sunset 
and sunrise I took a walk to the village churchyard, which 
commands the prettiest view in the neighborhood. It is 
enclosed in a picket fence, a large wooden cross stands 
in the centre, and there are a few other small crosses 
marking graves ; but the place looked uncared for, grown 
over, wherever the sand was not bare, by the same coarse, 
rank shrubs which spring up everywhere in, this un genial 
soil.* At a little distance from the churchyard, the hill 

* Afterwards I made a longer stay at Monte Alegre, and learned to know its 
picturesque nooks and dells, where a luxuriant vegetation is watered by de- 
licious springs. I feel that the above description is superficial ; but I let it 
remain, as perfectly true to my first impressions. 



168 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



slopes abruptly down, and from its brow one looks across 
a wide plain covered with low forest, to the mountain on 
the other side, from which the town takes its name. Look- 
ing southward, the foreground is filled with lakes divided 
from each other by low alluvial lands, forming the level 
flats alluded to above. Though one of the earliest settle- 
ments on the Amazons, this town is, by all accounts, 
rather decreasing than increasing in population. In the 
midst of its public square stands what seems at first to 
be the ruin of a large stone church, but which is, in fact, 
the framework of a cathedral begun forty years ago, and 
standing unfinished to this day. Cows were pastured in 
its grass-grown aisles, and it seemed a rather sad memorial, 
bespeaking a want of prosperity in the place. We were 
most kindly entertained in the house of Senhor Manuel, 
who, finding that the mosquitoes were likely to be very 
thick on board the steamer, invited us to pass the night 
under his roof. This morning we are sailing about in 
the neighborhood, partly for the sake of getting fish, but 
passing also a couple of hours at a cattle-farm near by, 
in order to bring on board a number of cows and oxen 
for the Manaos market. It seems that one of the chief 
occupations here is the raising of cattle. This, with the 
sale of fish, cacao, and India-rubber, constitutes the com- 
merce of the place. 

August 26th. — This morning found us again on the 
southern side of the river, off Santarem, at the mouth of one 
of the great branches of the Amazons, the Tapajoz. Here 
we leave a number of our party. Mr. Dexter, Mr. James, 
and Mr. Talisman, a young Brazilian who joined our party 
at Para, go on a collecting expedition up the Tapajoz. 
Mr. Bourget and Mr. Hunnewell remain at Santarem, the 



FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 



169 



former to make collections, the latter to attend to the 
repairs of his photographing apparatus, which has met 
with some disasters. We are all to meet again at Manaos 
for our farther voyage up to Tabatinga.* We remained 
at Santarem only long enough to see the party fitted out 
with a canoe and the necessary supplies, and as they put 
off from the steamer we weighed anchor and proceeded 
on our way, reserving our visit to Santarem for our return. 
As we left the port the black waters of the Tapajoz met 
the yellow stream of the Amazons, and the two ran together 
for a while, like the waters of the Arve and Rhone in 
Switzerland, meeting but not mingling. Instead of return- 
ing at once to the main river, the Captain, who omits 
nothing which can add to the pleasure or the profit of our 
voyage, put the steamer through a narrow channel, which, 
on the Mississippi, would be called a " bayou," but goes 
here by the name of an " Igarape." Nothing could be 
prettier than this " Igarape Assu," hardly more than wide 
enough to admit the steamer, and bordered on either side 
by a thick wood, in which are conspicuous the Munguba, 

* I soon became convinced after leaving Para that the faunae of our different 
stations were not repetitions of each other. On the contrary, at Breves, Taja- 
puru, Gurupa, — in short, at each stopping-place, as has been seen, — we found 
another set of inhabitants in the river, if not wholly different from the last, 
at least presenting so many new species that the combination was no longer 
the same. It became at once very important to ascertain whether these dif- 
ferences were permanent and stationary, or were, in part at least, an effect 
of migration. I therefore determined to distribute our forces in such a way as 
to keep collecting parties at distant points, and to repeat collections from the 
same localities at different seasons. I pursued this method of investigation 
during our whole stay in the Amazons, dividing the party for the first time at 
Santarem, where Messrs. Dexter, James, and Talisman separated from us to 
ascend the Tapajoz, while Mr. Bourget remained at Santarem, and I, with the 
rest of my companions, kept on to Obydos and Villa Bella. — L. A. 
8 



170 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



with its oval, red fruit, the Imbauba-tree, neither so lofty 
nor so regular in form as about Rio, and the Taxi, with its 
masses of white flowers and brown buds. For two days 
past we have lost the palms in a great degree ; about Monte 
Alegre they were comparatively few, and here we see 
scarcely any. 

The shore between Santarem and Obydos, where we 
shall arrive this evening, seems more populous than the 
regions we have been passing through. As we coast 
along, keeping close to the land, the scenes revive all our 
early visions of an ancient pastoral life. Groups of Indians 
— men, women, and children — greet us from the shore, 
standing under the overarching trees, usually trained or 
purposely chosen to form a kind of arbor over the landing- 
place, — the invariable foreground of the picture, with the 
" montaria " moored in front. One or two hammocks are 
often slung in the trees, and between the branches one 
gets a glimpse of the thatched roof and walls of the little 
straw cottage behind. Perhaps if we were to look a little 
closer at these pictures of pastoral life, we should find they 
have a coarse and prosaic side. But let them stand. Ar- 
cadia itself would not bear a too minute scrutiny, nor 
could it present a fairer aspect than do these Indian homes 
on the banks of the Amazons. The primitive forest about 
the houses is usually cleared, and they stand in the midst 
of little plantations of the cacao-tree, mingled with the 
mandioca shrub, from the roots of which the Indians 
make their flour, and occasionally also with the India- 
rubber-tree, though, as the latter grows plentifully in the 
forest, it is not often cultivated. The cacao and the India- 
rubber they send to Para, in exchange for such domestic 
goods as they require. We have passed so close to the 



FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 171 

shore to-day that it has been easy to make geological 
observations from the deck. For a considerable distance 
above Santarem we have followed drift cliffs, resting upon 
sandstone ; the drift of the same reddish color, and pasty, 
clayey consistence, and the sandstone seemingly the same 
in character, as that of Monte Ale*gre. 

August 27th. — -Villa Bella. Last evening we stopped 
to wood at the town of Obydos, but without landing ; 
keeping straight on to this port, on the southern side of the 
river, at the mouth of the river Tupinambaranas. Here we 
were very cordially received by Dr. Marcus, an old corre- 
spondent of Mr. Agassiz, who has several times sent speci- 
mens from the Amazons to the Cambridge Museum. To- 
night we are to start in canoes on an excursion to some 
of the lakes in the neighborhood of this port. 

August 28th. — In the porch of an Indian house on the 
lake Jose* Assu. We passed a pleasant day yesterday at 
the house of Dr. Marcus, keeping the Sabbath rather after 
the Jewish than the Christian rule, as a veritable day of 
rest, lounging in hammocks, and the gentlemen smoking. 
We returned to the steamer at five o'clock, intending to 
start at six, in order to have the benefit of the night fishing, 
said to be always the most successful. But a violent thun- 
der-storm, with heavy rain, lasting almost till midnight, 
delayed our departure. We loaded the boats, however, 
before night, that we might be ready to start whenever 
the weather should clear. We have two canoes, in one 
of which Mr. Agassiz, myself, and Mr. Burkhardt have 
our quarters, while Major Coutinho, Dr. Marcus, who 
accompanies us, and Mr. Thayer occupy the other. The 
former, which is rather the larger of the two, has a tiny 
cabin at one end, some three feet high and six feet long, 



172 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 

roofed in with wood ; the other has also one end covered 
in, but with thatch instead of wood. In the larger boat 
we have our luggage, compressed to the utmost, the live 
stock, — a small sheep, a turkey, and several fowls, — be- 
sides a number of barrels and kegs, containing alcohol, for 
specimens. The Captain has supplied us not only with all 
the necessaries, but, so far as is possible, with every luxury, 
for a week's voyage. All our preparations being made, and 
no prospect of clear weather, at nine o'clock we betook our- 
selves to our hammocks, — or those of us who had stowed 
their hammocks out of reach, — to chairs and benches, and 
had a broken sleep till three o'clock. The stars were then 
shining, and everything looked fair for our voyage. The 
wind had gone down, the river was smooth as glass when 
we paddled away from the side of the steamer, and, 
though we had no moon, one or two planets threw a 
bright reflection across the water to cheer our way. After 
keeping for some time down the river, we turned, just at 
dawn, into a very narrow channel leading through the 
forest. It was hardly day, but perhaps the scene was 
none the less impressive for the dim half-light in which 
we saw it. From the verdant walls, which rose on either 
side and shut us in, lofty trees, clothed from base to sum- 
mit in vines, stood out here and there like huge green 
columns, in bold relief against the morning sky ; hidden 
flowers filled the air with fragrance, great roots stretched 
out into the water, and now and then a floating log narrowed 
the passage so as just to leave room for the canoe to pass. 
After a while a broader, fuller light shone under the boughs, 
and we issued from this narrow pathway into an extensive 
lake. Here it was found that the large net, which was to 
have made a part of the outfit of the canoe, had been left 



FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 



173 



behind, and, after calling at two or three Indian houses 
to see if we could supply the deficiency, we were obliged 
to send back to Villa Bella for it. In the mean time 
we moored our boats at the foot of a little hill, on which 
stands an Indian house, where we stopped to breakfast, 
and where we are still waiting for the return of our 
messengers. I must say, that a near view of Arcadia tends 
to dispel illusions ; but it should be added, that this speci- 
men is by no means a favorable one. The houses at Taja- 
purti were far more attractive, and the appearance of their 
inhabitants much neater and more respectable, than those 
of our friends here. Yet at this moment the scene is 
not altogether uninviting. Some of the party are loung- 
ing in the hammocks, which we have slung under the 
great porch, as we are to pass several hours here ; an 
improvised rustic table, consisting of a board resting on 
forked sticks, stands at one side ; the boatmen are clearing 
away the remains of our late repast ; the Indian women, 
dirty, half clad, with their hair hanging uncombed around 
their faces, are tending their naked children, or kneading 
the mandioca in a huge trough. The men of the house 
have just returned from fishing, the morning having been 
more successful in that respect than was expected, and 
are now fitting up a rough forge, in which they are re- 
pairing some of their iron instruments. In the mean 
time Science has its sacred corner, where Mr. Agassiz is 
investigating new species, the result of the morning's fish- 
ing, while Mr. Burkhardt is drawing them. 

August 29th. — Finding yesterday that our shelter grew 
more uncomfortable as the day wore on, and being obliged 
to wait for the night fishing, we determined to cross the 
lake to a " Sitio " (as the inhabitants call their plantations) 



174 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



on the other side of the lake. Here we found one of the 
better specimens of Indian houses. On one side of the 
house is the open porch, quite gay at this moment with 
our brightly colored hammocks ; adjoining this is a large 
chamber, opening into the porch by a wide straw, or rather 
palm-leaf door ; which does not swing on hinges, however, 
but is taken down and put up like a mat. On the other 
side of the room is an unglazed window, closed at will 
in the same way by a palm-leaf mat. For the present 
this chamber is given up to my use. On the other side 
of the porch is another veranda-like room, also open at 
the sides, and apparently the working-room of the family ; 
for here is the great round oven, built of mud, where the 
farinha is dried, and the baskets of mandioca-root are stand- 
ing ready to be picked and grated, and here also is the rough 
log table where we take our meals. Everything has an air 
of decency and cleanliness ; the mud-floors are swept, the 
ground about the house is tidy and free from rubbish, the 
little plantation around it of cacao and mandioca, with here 
and there a coffee-shrub, is in nice order. The house stands 
on a slightly rising ground, sloping gently upward from the 
lake, and just below, under some trees on the shore, are 
moored the Indian's " Montaria " and our two canoes. We 
were received with the most cordial friendliness, the Indian 
women gathering about me and examining, though not in a 
* rough or rude way, my dress, the net on my hair, touching 
my rings and watch-chain, and evidently discussing the 
"branca" between themselves. In the evening, after din- 
ner, I walked up and down outside the house, enjoying the 
picturesqueness of the scene. The husband had just come 
in from the lake, and the fire on the ground, over which the 
fresh fish was broiling for the supper of the family, shone 



FKOM PARA TO MANAOS. 



175 



on the figures of the women and children as they moved 
about, and shed its glow under the thatched roof of the 
working-room, making its interior warm and ruddy ; a 
lantern in the corner of the porch threw a dim, uncertain 
light over hammocks and half-recumbent figures, and with- 
out, the moon shone over lake and forest. The mosquitoes, 
however, presently began to disturb the romance of the 
scene, and, as we were all rather tired from our broken 
rest the night before, we retired early. My own sleep, 
under an excellent mosquito-net, was very quiet and 
refreshing, but there were some of the party who had 
not provided themselves with this indispensable accompa- 
niment of a hammock, and they passed the night in 
misery, affording a repast to the voracious hordes buzzing 
about them. I was awakened shortly after daylight by 
the Indian women, bringing me a bouquet of roses and 
jessamine from the vines which grew about the cottage, 
and wishing me good morning. After such a kindly greet- 
ing, I could not refuse them the pleasure of assisting at my 
toilet, of watching the opening of my valise, and handling 
every article as it came out. 

The night fishing was unfavorable, but this morning the 
fishermen have brought in new species enough to keep 
Mr. Agassiz and his artist busy for many hours, so that 
we are likely to pass another night among these hospitable 
people. I must say that the primitive life of the better 
class of Indians on the Amazons is much more attractive 
than the so-called civilized life in the white settlements. 
Anything more bald, dreary, and uninviting than life in the 
Amazonian towns, with an attempt at the conventionalisms 
of civilization, but without one of its graces, I can hardly 
conceive. This morning my Indian friends have been 



176 



A JOUKNEY IN BRAZIL. 



showing me the various processes to which the Mandioca 
is subjected. This plant is invaluable to these people. It 
gives them their farinha, — a coarse kind of flour, their only 
substitute for bread, — their tapioca, and also a kind of 
fermented juice called tucupi, — a more questionable bless- 
ing, perhaps, since it affords them the means of getting 
intoxicated. After being peeled, the roots of the mandioca 
are scraped on a very coarse grater ; in this condition they 
make a moist kind of paste, which is then packed in elastic 
straw tubes, made of the fibres of the Jacitara Palm (Des- 
monchus). When her tube, which has always a loop at 
either end, is full, the Indian woman hangs it on the 
branch of a tree ; she then passes a pole through the lower 
loop and into a hole in the trunk of the tree, and, sitting 
down on the other end of the pole, she thus transforms it 
into a primitive kind of lever, drawing out the tube to its 
utmost length by the pressure of her own weight. The 
juice is thus expressed, flowing into a bowl placed under 
the tube. This juice is poisonous at first, but after being 
fermented becomes quite harmless, and is then used for 
the tucupi. The tapioca is made by mixing the grated 
mandioca with water. It is then pressed on a sieve, and 
the fluid which flows out is left to stand. It soon makes 
a deposit like starch, and when hardened they make it 
into a kind of porridge. It is a favorite article of food 
with them. 

August 30th. — As time goes on, we grow more at home 
with our rustic friends here, and begin to understand their 
relations to each other. The name of our host is Laudi- 
gari (I spell the name as it sounds), and that of his wife 
Esperanga. He, like all the Indians living upon the Ama- 
zons, is a fisherman, and, with the exception of such little 



FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 



177 



care as his small plantation requires, this is his only occupa- 
tion. An Indian is never seen to do any of the work of the 
house, not even to bring wood or water or lift the heavy 
burdens, and as the fishing is done chiefly at certain seasons, 
he is a very idle fellow for a great part of the time. The 
women are said, on the contrary, to be very industrious ; and 
certainly those whom we have an opportunity of seeing here 
justify this reputation. Esperan^a is always busy at some 
household work or other, — grating mandioca, drying farin- 
ha. packing tobacco, cooking or sweeping. Her children are 
active and obedient, the older ones making themselves use- 
ful in bringing water from the lake, in washing the mandi- 
oca, or in taking care of the younger ones. Esperanca can 
hardly be called pretty, but she has a pleasant smile and a 
remarkably sweet voice, with a kind of child-like intonation, 
which is very winning ; and when sometimes, after her work 
is over, she puts on her white chemise, falling loose from 
her brown shoulders, her dark skirt, and a rose or a sprig 
of white jessamine in her jetty hair, she is by no means 
unattractive in her personal appearance, though I must 
confess that the pipe which she is apt to smoke in the 
evening injures the general effect. Her husband looks 
somewhat sombre ; but his hearty laugh occasionally, and 
his enjoyment of the glass of cacha5a which rewards him 
when he brings in a new lot of specimens, shows that he 
has his ^ bright side. He is greatly amused at the value 
Mr. Agassiz attaches to the fishes, especially the little 
ones, which appear to him only fit to throw away. It 
seems that the other family who have been about here 
since our arrival are neighbors, who have come in to help 
in the making of mandioca. They come in the morning 
with all their children and remain through the day. The 

8* L 



178 



A JOUENEY IN BRAZIL. 



names of the father and mother are Pedro Manuel and 
Michelina. He is a tall, handsome fellow, whose chief 
occupation seems to be that of standing about in pictu- 
resque attitudes, and watching his rather pretty wife, as 
she bustles round in her various work of grating or 
pressing or straining the mandioca, generally with her 
baby astride on her hip, — the Indian woman's favorite way 
of carrying her child. Occasionally, however, Pedro Man- 
uel is aroused to bear some part in the collecting ; and the 
other day, when he brought in some specimens which seemed 
to him quite valueless, Mr. Agassiz rewarded him with a 
chicken. His surprise and delight were great, perhaps a 
little mingled with contempt for the man who would barter 
a chicken for a few worthless fishes, fit only to throw into 
the river. 

Last evening, with some difficulty, we induced Laudigari 
to play for us on a rough kind of lute or guitar, — a favorite 
instrument with the country people, and used by them 
as an accompaniment for dancing. When we had him 
fairly en train with the music, we persuaded Esperanca 
and Michelina to show us some of their dances ; not 
without reluctance, and with an embarrassment which 
savored somewhat of the self-consciousness of civilized life, 
they stood up with two of our boatmen. The dance is 
very peculiar ; so languid that it hardly deserves the name. 
There is almost no movement of the body ; they lift the 
arms, but in an angular position with no freedom of motion, 
snapping the fingers like castanets in time to the music, 
and they seem rather like statues gliding from place to 
place than like dancers. This is especially true of the 
women, who are still more quiet than the men. One of 
the boatmen was a Bolivian, a finely formed, picturesque- 



FKOM PARA TO MANAOS. 



179 



looking man, whose singular dress heightened the effect 
of his peculiar movements. The Bolivian Indians wear 
a kind of toga ; at least I do not know how otherwise 
to designate their long straight robe of heavy twilled 
cotton cloth. It consists of two pieces, hanging before 
and behind, fastened on the shoulder ; leaving only an 




Esperanca's Cottage. 



aperture for the head to pass through. It is belted 
around the waist, leaving the sides open so that the legs 
and arms are perfectly free. The straight folds of his 
heavy white drapery gave a sort of statuesque look to 
our Bolivian as he moved slowly* about in the dance. 
After it was over, Esperanca and the others urged me to 
show them the dance " of my country," as they said, and 



180 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



my young friend R and I waltzed for them, to their 

great delight. It seemed to me like a strange dream. 
The bright fire danced with us, flickering in under the 
porch, fitfully lighting its picturesque interior and the 
group of wondering Indians around us, who encouraged 
us every now and then with a " Muito bonito, mia branca, 
muito bonito " (Very pretty, my white, very pretty). Our 
ball kept up very late, and after I had gone to my ham- 
mock I still heard, between waking and sleeping, the plain- 
tive chords of the guitar, mingling with the melancholy 
note of a kind of whippoorwill, who sings in the woods all 
night. This morning the forest is noisy with the howling 
monkeys. They sound very near and very numerous ; but 
we are told that they are deep in the forest, and would 
disappear at the slightest approach. 

September 1st. — Yesterday morning we bade our friendly 
hosts good-by, leaving their pretty picturesque home with 
real regret. The night before we left, they got together 
some of their neighbors in our honor, and renewed the 
ball of the previous evening. Like things of the same 
kind in other classes, the second occasion, got up with a 
little more preparation than the first, which was wholly 
impromptu, was neither so gay nor so pretty. Frequent 
potations of cachaca made the guests rather noisy, and 
their dancing, under this influence, became far more ani- 
mated, and by no means so serious and dignified as the 
evening before. One thing which occurred early in the 
entertainment, however, was interesting, as showing some- 
thing of their religious observances. In the morning Es- 
peranc,a's mother, a hi'deous old Indian woman, had come 
into my room to make me a visit. Before leaving, I was 
rather surprised to see her kneel down by a little trunk 



FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 



181 



in the corner, and, opening the lid slightly, throw in re- 
peated kisses, touching her lips to her fingers and making 
gestures as if she dropped the kisses into the trunk, crossing 
herself at intervals as she did so. In the evening she was 
again at the dance, and, with the other two women, went 
through with a sort of religious dance, chanting the while, 
and carrying in their hands a carved arch of wood which 
they waved to and fro in time to the chant. When I asked 
Esperanc,a the meaning of this, she told me that, though 
they went to the neighboring town of Villa Bella for the 
great fete of our Lady of Nazareth, they kept it also 
at home on their return, and this was a part of their 
ceremonies. And then she asked me to come in with 
her, and, leading the way to my room, introduced me to 
the contents of the precious trunk ; there was our Lady of 
Nazareth, a common coarse print, framed in wood, one or 
two other smaller colored prints and a few candles ; over the 
whole was thrown a blue gauze. It was the family chapel, 
and she showed me all the things, taking them up one by 
one with a kind of tender, joyful reverence, only made the 
more touching by their want of any material value. 

We are now at another Indian house on the bank of an 
arm of the river Ramos, connecting the Amazons, through 
the Mauhes, with the Madeira. Our two hours' canoe-jour- 
ney yesterday, in the middle of the day, was somewhat hot 
and wearisome, though part of it lay through one of the 
shady narrow channels I have described before. The In- 
dians have a pretty name for these channels in the forest ; 
they call them Igarapes, that is, boat-paths, and they literally 
are in many places just wide enough for the canoe. At 
about four o'clock we arrived at our present lodging, which 
is by no means so pretty as the one we have left, though it 



182 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



stands, like that, on the slope of a hill just above the shore, 
with the forest about it. But it lacks the wide porch and 
the open working-room which made the other house so 
picturesque. Mosquitoes are plentiful, and at nightfall 
the house is closed and a pan of turf burned before the 
door to drive them away. Our host and. hostess, by name 
Jose' Antonio Maia and Maria Joanna Maia, do what they 
can, however, to make us comfortable, and the children as 
well as the parents show that natural courtesy which has 
struck us so much among these Indians. The children are 
constantly bringing me flowers and such little gifts as they 
have it in their power to bestow, especially the painted cups 
which the Indians make from the fruit of the Crescentia, and 
use as drinking-cups, basins, and the like. One sees num- 
bers of them in all the Indian houses along the Amazons. 
My books and writing seem to interest them very much, and 
while I was reading at the window of my room this morning, 
the father and mother came up, and, after watching me a 
few minutes in silence, the father asked me, if I had any 
leaves out of some old book which was useless to me, or 
even a part of any old newspaper, to leave it with him when 
I went away. Once, he said, he had known how to read a 
little, and he seemed to think if he had something to prac- 
tise upon, he might recover the lost art. His face fell when 
I told him all my books were English : it was a bucket 
of cold water to his literary ambition. Then he added, 
that one of his little boys was very bright, and he was 
sure he could learn, if he had the means of sending him 
to school. When I told him that I lived in a country 
where a good education was freely given to the child of 
every poor man, he said if the " branca " did not live so 
far away, he would ask her to take his daughter with her, 



FROM PARA TO MANAOS. 



183 



and for her services to have her taught to read and write. 
The man has a bright, intelligent face, and speaks with 
genuine feeling of his desire to give an education to his 
children. 

September 3c?. — Yesterday we started on our return, 
and after a warm and wearisome row of four hours reached 
our steamer at five o'clock in the afternoon. The scien- 
tific results of this expedition have been most satisfactory. 
The collections, differing greatly from each other in char- 
acter, are very large from both our stations, and Mr. 
Burkhardt has been indefatigable in making colored draw- 
ings of the specimens while their tints were yet fresh. 
This is no easy task, for the mosquitoes buzz about him 
and sometimes make work almost intolerable. This morn- 
ing Maia brought in a superb Pirarara (fish parrot). This 
fish is already well known to science ; it is a heavy, broad- 
headed hornpout, with a bony shield over the whole head ; 
its general color is jet black, but it has bright yellow sides, 
deepening into orange here and there. Its systematic name 
is Phractocephalus bicolor. The yellow fat of this fish has 
a curious property ; the Indians tell us that when parrots 
are fed upon it they become tinged with yellow, and they 
often use it to render their " papagaios" more variegated.* 

* I was especially interested in seeing living Gymnotini. I do not here 
allude to the electric Gymnotus, already so fully described by Humboldt that 
nothing remains to be said about it ; but to the smaller representatives of that 
curious family, known as Carapus, Sternopygus, Sternarchus and Ehamphich- 
thys. The Carapus, called Sarapos throughout Brazil, are very numerous, 
and the most lively of the whole group. Their motions are winding and 
rapid like those of the Eel, but yet different, inasmuch as they do not glide 
quickly forward, but, like Cobitis and Petromyzon, turn frequent somersets and 
change their direction constantly. This is also the case with the Sternopygus 
and Sternarchus, and even the larger and more slender Ehamphichthys have a 
kind of rolling motion. Though I had expected to find many Cyprinodonts, 



184 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



During our absence the commander of our steamer, 
Captain Anacleto, and one or two gentlemen of the town, 
among others Senhor Augustinho, and also Father Torquato, 
whose name occurs often in Bates's work on the Amazons, 
have been making a collection of river fishes, in which Mr. 
Agassiz finds some fifty new species. Thus the harvest of 
the week has been a rich one. To-day we are on our way 
to Manaos, where we expect to arrive in the course of to- 
morrow. 

yet their great variety astonished me, and still more was I struck by their 
resemblance to Melanura, Umbra, and the Erythrinoids. The presence of 
Belone and allied forms also surprised me. Our stay on the shores of Jose 
Assu and Lago Maximo was particularly instructive on account of the nu- 
merous specimens of each species daily brought in by Laudigari and Maia. 
It afforded me a welcome opportunity for studying the differences exhibited 
by these fishes at different periods of life. No type passes, in that respect, 
through greater changes than the Chromides, and among them the genus 
Cychla is perhaps the most variable. I am sure that no ichthyologist could 
at first sight believe that their young are really the early stage of the forms 
known in our ichthyological works as Cychla monocolus, Cychla temensis, and 
Cychla saxatilis. The males and females also vary greatly during the spawning 
season, and the hump on the top of the head described as a specific character 
in Cychla nigro-maculata is a protuberance only found in the male, swelling 
during the period of spawning and soon disappearing. Once familiar with the 
young brood of some species of Chromides, it became easy for me to distinguish 
a great variety of small types, no doubt hitherto overlooked by naturalists trav- 
elling in this region, simply under the impression that they must be the young 
of larger species. A similar investigation of the young of Serrasalmo, 
Myletes, Tetragonopterus, Cynodon, Anodus, &c. led me to the discovery 
of an equally large number of diminutive types of Characines, many of which, 
when full grown, do not exceed one inch in length ; among them are some of 
the most beautiful fishes I have ever seen, so far as the brilliancy and variety 
of their colors are concerned. Thus everything contributed to swell the collec- 
tions, — the localities selected as well as the mode of investigating. I should 
add here, that, several years before my own journey on the Amazons, I had 
been indebted to the Rev. Mr. Fletcher for a valuable collection of fishes from 
this and other Amazonian localities. The familiarity thus obtained with them 
was very useful to me in pursuing my studies on the spot. — L. A. 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



185 



CHAPTER VI. 

LIFE AT MANAOS. — VOYAGE FROM MANAOS TO TABATINGA. 

Arrival at Manaos. — Meeting of the Solimoens with the Rio Negro. — 
Domesticated at Manaos. — Return of Party from the Tapajoz. — 
Generosity of Government. — Walks. — Water - Carriers. — Indian 
School. — Leave Manaos. — Life on board the Steamer. — Barreira 
das Cudajas. — Coari. — Wooding. — Appearance of Banks. — Geologi- 
cal Constitution. — Forest. — Sumaumeira-Tree. — Arrow-Grass. — Bed 
Drift Cliffs. — Sand-Beaches. — Indian Huts. — Turtle-Hunting. — 
Drying Fish. — Teffe. — Doubts about the Journey. — Unexpected Ad- 
viser. — Fonte Boa. — Geological Character of Banks. — Lakes. — 
Flocks of Water Birds. — Tonantins. — Picturesque Grouping of In- 
dians. — San Paolo. — Land-Slides. — Character of Scenery. — Scanty 
Population. — Animal Life. — Tabatinga. — Aspect of the Settle- 
ment. — Mosquitoes. — Leave one of the Pa.rty to make Collections. — 
On our Way down the River. — Party to the Rivers Ica and Hyutahy. 
— Aground in the Amazons. — Arrival at Teffe. 

September 5th. — Manaos. Yesterday morning we entered 
the Rio Negro and saw the meeting of its calm, black waters 
with the rushing yellow current of the Amazons, or the 
Solimoens, as the Upper Amazon is called. They are well 
named by the Indians the " living and the dead river," for 
the Solimoens pours itself down upon the dark stream of 
the Rio Negro with such a vital, resistless force, that the 
latter does indeed seem like a lifeless thing by its side. 
It is true, that at this season, when the water in both 
the rivers is beginning to subside, the Rio Negro seems 
to offer some slight resistance to the stronger river ; it 
struggles for a moment with the impetuous flood which 
overmasters it, and, though crowded up against the shore, 
continues its course for a little distance side by side with 
the Solimoens. But at the . season when the waters are 
highest, the latter closes the mouth of the Rio Negro so 



186 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 

completely that not a drop of its inky stream is seen to 
mingle with the yellow waters outside. It is supposed 
that at this season the Rio Negro sinks at once under 
the Solimoens ; at all events, the latter flows across its 
mouth, seeming to bar it completely. It must not be 
supposed, from the change of name, that the Solimoens 
is anything more than the continuation of the Amazons ; 
just as the so-called river Maranon is its continuation 
above Nauta, after crossing the Brazilian frontier. It is 
always the same gigantic stream, traversing the continent 
for its whole breadth ; but it has received in its lower, 
middle, and upper course the three local names of the 
Amazons, the Solimoens, and the Maranon. At the point 
where the Brazilians give it the name of Solimoens it 
takes a sudden turn to the south, just where the Rio Ne- 
gro enters it from the north, so that the two form a sharp 
angle. 

We landed at Manaos and went at once to the house 
which Major Coutinho, with his usual foresight, has pro- 
vided for us. As the day of our arrival was uncertain, 
the arrangements were not completed, and the house was 
entirely empty when we entered it. In about ten minutes, 
however, chairs and tables — brought, I believe, from the 
house of a friend — made their appearance, the rooms were 
promptly furnished, and presently assumed a very cosey and 
comfortable look, notwithstanding their brick floors and bare 
walls. We have some pleasant neighbors in a family living 
almost next door to us, old and intimate friends of Major 
Coutinho, who receive us for his sake as if we also had 
a claim on their affection. Here we rest from our wander- 
ings, for a week at least, until the steamer sails for Taba- 
tinga. 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



187 



September 9th. — We have passed such quiet clays here, so 
far as any variety of incident is concerned, that there is little 
to record. Work has gone on as usual ; the whole collec- 
tion of fishes, made since we left Para, has been so re- 
packed as to leave it in readiness to be shipped for that port. 
Our companions have rejoined us on their return from the 
Tapajoz, bringing with them considerable collections from 
that river also. They seem to have enjoyed their excursion 
greatly, and describe the river as scarcely inferior to the 
Amazons itself in breadth and grandeur, having wide sand- 
beaches where the waves roll in, when the wind is high, 
almost as upon a sea-shore. Mr. Agassiz has done nothing 
in the way of collecting here, with the exception of securing 
such fishes as are to*be had in the immediate neighborhood ; 
he reserves his voyage on the Rio Negro for our return. 
And, by the way, we are met here by another practical 
evidence of the good-will of the Brazilian government. 
On leaving Rio, the Emperor had offered Mr. Agassiz the 
use of a small government steamer to make explorations 
on the Negro and Madeira rivers. On our arrival at Pard 
he was told that the steamer had been found to be so much 
out of repair that she was considered unsafe. Under these 
circumstances, he supposed that we should be obliged to 
resort to the small boats generally used. But to-day an 
official communication informs him that, as the Piraja is 
found not to be serviceable, another steamer will be fur- 
nished, which will meet us at Manaos on our return from 
the Upper Amazons. The following letter, acknowledging 
this favor, to the President of Para, through whom it was 
received, contains some account of the scientific results thus 
far, and may not be uninteresting. 



188 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Manaos, 8 Septembre, 1865. 
A Son Excellence M. Couto de Magalhaes, President du Para. 

Mon cher Monsieur: — Je vous remercie infiniment de 
l'aimable lettre que vous avez eu la bonte de m'ecrire la 
semaine derniere et je m'empresse de vous faire part des 
succes extraordinaires qui continuent a couronner nos ef- 
forts. II est certain d£s-a-present que le nombre des poissons 
qui peuplent l'Amazone excede de beaucoup tout ce que 
l'on avait imaging jusqu'ici et que leur distribution est 
tr£s limit^e en totalite, bien qu'il y ait un petit nombre 
d'especes qui nous suivent depuis Para et d'autres pour 
une e*tendue plus ou moins considerable. Vous vous rap- 
pelez peut-etre qu'en faisant allusion a mes esperances je 
vous dis un jour que je croyais a la ppssibilite de trouver 
deux cent cinquante a trois cents esp^ces de poissons dans 
tout le bassin de l'Amazone ; et bien aujourd'hui, meme 
avant d'avoir francbi le tiers du cours principal du 
fleuve et remonte par ci par la seulement quelques lieues 
au dela de ses bords j'en ai deja obtenu plus de trois 
cents. C'est inoui; surtout si l'on considere que le 
nombre total connu des naturalistes ne va pas au tiers 
de ce que j'ai deja recueilli. Ce resultat laisse a peine 
entrevoir ce qu'on decouvrira un jour lorsqu'on explorera 
avec le meme soin tous les affluents du grand fleuve. 
Ce serait une entreprise digne de vous de faire explorer 
l'Araguay dans tout son cours pour nous apprendre com- 
bien d'assemblages differents d'especes distinctes se reri- 
contrent successivement depuis ses sources jusqu'a sa 
jonction avec le Tocantins et plus bas jusqu'a l'Amazone 
Vous avez deja une sorte de proprie'te scientifique sur ce 
fleuve a laquelle vous ajouteriez de nouveaux droits en 
fournissant a la science ces renseignements. 



* 

LIFE AT MANAOS. 



189 



Permettez moi de vous exprimer toute ma gratitude pour 
l'interet que vous preuez a mon jeune compagnon de voyage. 
M. Ward le merite egalement par sa grande jeunesse, son 
courage et son devouement a la science. M. Epaminondas 
vient de me faire part de vos genereuses intentions a mon 
egard et de me dire que vous vous proposez d'expedier un 
vapeur a Manaos pour prendre la place du Piraja et faciliter 
notre exploration du Rio Negro et du Rio Madeira. Je ne 
sais trop comment vous remercier pour une pareille faveur ; 
tout ce que je puis vous dire des-a-present c'est que cette 
faveur me permettra de faire une exploration de ces fleuves 
qui me serait impossible sans cela. Et si le resultat de ces 
recherches est aussi favorable que je l'attends, l'honneur 
en reviendra avant tout a la liberalite du gouvernement 
Bresilien. Entraind par les resultats que j'ai obtenus 
jusqu'ici, je pense que si les circonstances nous sont favo- 
rables en arrivant a Tabatinga, nous ferons une poussee 
j usque dans la partie inferieure du Perou* tandis que mes 
compagnons exploreront les fleuves intermediaires entre cette 
ville et Teffe ; en sorte que nous ne serons probablement 
pas de retour a Manaos avant la fin du mois d'Octobre. 

Agreez, mon cher Monsieur, l'assurance de ma haute con- 
sideration et de mon parfait devouement. 

L. AGASSIZ.f 

* As will be seen hereafter, want of time and the engrossing character of 
his work in the Amazons, compelled Mr. Agassiz to renounce the journey into 
Peru, as also the ascent of the river Madeira. 

t To His Excellency M. Couto de Magcdho.es, President of Para. 

My dear Sir : — I thank you sincerely for the kind letter you were so good 
as to write me last week, and I hasten to inform you of the extraordinary 
success which continues to crown our efforts. It is certain from this time forth, 
that the number of fishes inhabiting the Amazons greatly exceeds all that has 
hitherto been imagined, and that their distribution is very limited on the whole, 



190 



A JOURNEY IN BEAZIL. 



There is little to be said of the town of Manaos. It con- 
sists of a small collection of houses, half of which seem 
going to decay, and indeed one can hardly help smiling 
at the tumble-down edifices, dignified by the name of pub- 
lic buildings, the treasury, the legislative hall, the post- 
though a small number of species have followed us since we left Para and others 
have a range more or less extensive. You remember, perhaps, that, when al- 
luding to my hopes, I told you one day that I believed in the possibility of find- 
ing from two hundred and fifty to three hundred species of fish in the whole basin 
of the Amazons ; even now, having passed over less than one third of the main 
stream, and only diverged here and there to some points beyond its shores, I 
have already obtained more than three hundred. It is incredible, above all, if 
one considers that the total number known to naturalists does not reach one 
third of what I have already collected. This result scarcely allows one to fore- 
see the discoveries to be made whenever the affluents of the great river are 
explored with the same care. An exploration of the Araguay for its whole 
course, in order to teach us how many different combinations of distinct species 
occur in succession, from its sources to its junction with the Tocantins and 
lower down till it meets the Amazons, would be an enterprise worthy of vou. 
You have already a sort of scientific property in this river, to which you would 
add new rights in furnishing science with this information. 

Permit me to express to you all the gratitude I feel for the interest you take 
in my young travelling companion. Mr. Ward is worthy of it, alike from his 
youth, his courage, and his devotion to science. Mr. Epaminondas has just 
communicated to me your generous intentions towards myself, and your' 
purpose of sending a steamer to Manaos to take the place of the Piraja, 
and facilitate our exploration of the Rio Negro and the Rio Madeira. I do 
not know how to thank you enough ; all that I can say is, that this favor 
will allow me to make an exploration of these rivers which would be other- 
wise impossible. If the result of these researches be as favorable as my hopes, 
the honor will be due, in the first instance, to the liberality of the Brazilian 
government. Encouraged by the results thus far obtained, I think that, if the 
circumstances are favorable, on arriving at Tabatinga, we shall make a push 
into the lower part of Peru, while my companions will explore the rivers inter- 
mediate between this town and Teffe ; so that we shall probably not return to 
Manaos before the end of October. 

Accept, my dear Sir, the assurance of my high regard, &c, &c. 

L. Agassiz. 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



191 



office, the custom-house, the President's mansion, &c. The 
position of the city, however, at the junction of the Rio 
Negro, the Amazons, and the Solimoens, is commanding; 
and, insignificant as it looks at present, Manaos will no 
doubt be a great centre of commerce and navigation at 
some future time.* 

But when we consider the vast extent of land covered 
by almost impenetrable forest and the great practical diffi- 
culties in the way of the settler here, arising from the cli- 
mate, the insects, the obstacles to communication, the day 
seems yet far distant when a numerous population will 
cover the banks of the Amazons, when steamers will ply 
between its ports as between those of the Mississippi, and 
when all nations will share in the rich products of its 
valley. f One of my greatest pleasures in Manaos has been 
to walk toward the neighboring forest at nightfall, and see 
the water-carriers, Indian and negro, coming down from the 
narrow pathways with their great red earthen jars on their 

* Some English travellers have criticised the position of the town, and re- 
gretted that it is not placed lower down, at the immediate junction of the Kio 
Negro with the Solimoens. But its actual situation is much better, on account 
of the more quiet port, removed as it is from the violent currents caused by 
the meeting of the two rivers. — L. A. 

t When this was written there was hardly any prospect of the early opening 
of the Amazons to the free commerce of the world. The circumstance that 
since the 7th of September last this great fresh-water ocean has been made 
free to the mercantile shipping of all nations will, no doubt, immensely acceler- 
ate the development of civilization in these desert regions. No act could have 
exhibited more unequivocally the liberal policy which actuates the Brazilian 
government than this. To complete the great work, two things are still want- 
ing, — a direct high road between the upper tributaries of the Rio Madeira 
and Rio Paraguay, and the abolition of the subsidies granted to privileged com- 
panies, that the colossal traffic of which the whole basin is susceptible may 
truly be thrown open to a fair competition. — L. A. 



192 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



heads. They make quite a procession at morning and 
evening; for the river water is not considered good, and 
the town is chiefly supplied from pools and little stream- 
lets in the woods. Many of these pools, very prettily 
situated and embowered in trees, are used as bathing- 
places ; one, which is quite large and deep, is a special 
favorite ; it has been thatched over with palm, and has 
also a little thatched shed adjoining, to serve as a dressing- 
room. 

Yesterday we passed an interesting morning at a school 
for Indian children a little way out of the city. We were 
astonished at the aptness they showed for the arts of civiliza- 
tion so uncongenial to our North American Indians : it re- 
minded one that they are the successors, on the same soil, 
of the races who founded the ancient civilizations of Peru 
and Mexico, so much beyond any social organization known 
to have existed among the more northern tribes. In one 
room they were turning out very nice pieces of furniture, — 
chairs, tables, book-stands, &c, with a number of smaller 
articles, such as rulers and paper-knives. In another room 
they were working in iron, in another making fine fancy 
articles of straw. Besides these trades, they are taught 
to read, write, and cipher, and to play on various musical 
instruments. For music they are said to have, like the 
negro, a natural aptitude. In the main building were 
the school-rooms, dormitories, store-rooms, kitchen, &c. 
We were there just at the breakfast hour, and had the 
satisfaction of seeing them sit down to a hearty meal, 
consisting of a large portion of bread and butter and a 
generous bowl of coffee. I could not help contrasting the 
expression of these boys, when they were all collected, 
with that of a number of negro children assembled to- 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



193 



gether ; the latter always so jolly and careless, the former 
shy, serious, almost sombre. They looked, however, very 
intelligent, and we were told that those of pure Indian 
descent were more so than the half-breeds. The school 
is supported by the province, but the fund is small, and 
the number of pupils is very limited. Our pleasure in 
this school was somewhat marred by hearing that, though 
it purports to be an orphan asylum, children who have 
parents loath to part with them are sometimes taken by 
force from the wild Indian tribes to be educated here. 
The appearance of a dark cell, barred up like the cell 
of a wild animal, which was used as a prison for refrac- 
tory scholars, rather confirmed this impression. Whenever 
I have made inquiries about these reports, I have been 
answered, that, if such cases occur, it is only where chil- 
dren are taken from an utterly savage and degraded con- 
dition, and that it is better they should be civilized by 
main force than not civilized at all. It may be doubted, 
however, whether any providence but the providence of 
God is so wise and so loving that it may safely exercise a 
compulsory charity. Speaking of the education of the 
Indians reminds me that we have been fortunate enough 
to meet a French padre here who has furnished Mr. Agassiz 
with a package of simple elementary Portuguese books, 
which he has already sent to our literary Indian friend, 
Jose* Maia. This kind priest offers also to take the boy, 
for whom Maia was so anxious to secure an education, 
into the seminary of which he is director, and where he 
receives charity scholars. 

September 12th. — On Sunday we left Manaos in the steam- 
er for Tabatinga, and are again on our way up the river. 
I insert here a letter which gives a sort of resumS of the 

9 M 



194 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



scientific work up to this moment, and shows also how 
constantly we were attended by the good-will of the em- 
ployes on the Amazonian line of steamers, and that of 
their excellent director, Mr. Pimenta Bueno. 

Manaos, 8 Septembre, 1865. 

Senhor Pimenta Bueno. 

Mon cher Ami : — Vous serez probablement surpris de 
recevoir seulement qnelques lignes de moi apr£s le temps 
qui s'est e'coule depuis ma derniere lettre. Le fait est que 
depuis Obydos je suis alle de surprise en surprise et que j'ai 
a peine eu le temps de prendre soin des collections que 
nous avons faites, sans pouvoir les e*tudier convenablement. 
C'est ainsi que pendant le semaine que nous avons passe'e 
dans les environs de Villa Bella, au Lago Jose* Assu et 
Lago Maximo, nous avons recueilli cent quatre-vingts especes 
de poissons dont les deux tiers au moins sont nouvelles et 
ceux de mes compagnons qui sont restes a Santarem et dans 
le Tapajoz en ont rapports une cinquantaine, ce qui fait deja 
bien au dela de trois cents especes en comptant celles de 
Porto do Moz, de Gurupd, de Tajapuru et de Monte Alegre. 
Yous voyez qu'avant meme d' avoir parcouru le tiers du 
cours de l'Amazone, le nombre des poissons est plus du triple 
de celui de toutes les especes connues jusqu'a ce jour, et je 
commence a m'apercevoir que nous ne ferons qu'effleurer 
la surface du centre de ce grand bassin. Que sera-ce lors- 
qu'on pourra e*tudier a loisir et dans l'e*poque la plus fa- 
vorable tous ses affluents. Aussi je prends dds-a-present la 
resolution de faire de plus nombreuses stations dans la par- 
tie supe'rieure du fleuve et de prolonger mon sejour aussi 
long-temps que mes forces me le permettront. Ne croyez 
pas cependant que j'oublie £b qui je dois un pareil succSs. 
C'est vous qui m'avez mis sur la voie en me faisant 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



195 



connaitre les ressources de la f6ret et mieux encore en 
me fournissant les moyens d'en tirer parti. Merci, mille 
fois, merci. Je dois anssi tenir grand compte de Fas- 
sistance que m'ont fournie les agents de la compagnie 
sur tons les points oii nous avons touche\ Notre aimable 
commandant s'est e*galement eVertue*, et pendant que j'ex- 
plorais les lacs des environs de Villa Bella il a fait lui- 
meme une tres belle collection dans FAmazone meme, 
oii il a recueilli de nombreuses petites espdces que les 
pecheurs negligent toujours. A Farrive*e du Belem, j'ai 
recu votre aimable lettre et une partie de F alcohol que 
j'avais demande a M. Bond. Je lui £cris aujourd'hui 
pour qu'il m'en envoie encore une partie a Teffe' et plus tard 
davantage a Manaos. Je vous remercie pour le catalogue 
des poissons du Para ; je vous le restituerai a notre retour, 
avec les additions que je ferai pendant le reste du voyage. 
Adieu, mon cher ami. 

Tout a vous, 

L. Agassiz.* 

* Senahor Pimento, Bueno. 

My dear Friend : — You will probably be surprised to receive only a 
few lines from me after the time which has elapsed since my last letter. 
The truth is, that, since Obydos, I have passed from surprise to surprise, 
and that I have scarcely had time to take care of the collections we have 
made, without being able to study them properly. Thus, during the week 
we spent in the environs of Villa Bella, at Lago Jose Assu and Lago Maximo, 
we have collected one hundred and eighty species of fishes, two thirds of which, 
at least, are new, while those of my companions who remained at Santarem and 
upon the Tapajoz have brought back some fifty more, making already more 
than three hundred species, including those of Porto do Moz, of Gurupa, of 
Tajapuru, and of Monte Alegre. You see that before having ascended the 
Amazons for one third of its course, the number of fishes is more than triple 
that of all the species known thus far, and I begin to perceive that we shall not 
do more than skim over the surface of the centre of this great basin. What 
will it be when it becomes possible to study all its affluents at leisure and in the 



196 



A JOURNEY W BRAZIL. 



Although no longer on board an independent steamer, we 
are still the guests of the company, having government 
passages. Nothing can be more comfortable than the 
travelling on these Amazonian boats. They are clean 
and well kept, with good- sized state-rooms, which most 
persons use, however, only as dressing-rooms, since it is 
always more agreeable to sleep on the open deck in one's 
hammock. The table is very well kept, the fare good, 
though not varied. Bread is the greatest deficiency, but 
hard biscuit makes a tolerable substitute. Our life is after 
this fashion. We turn out of our hammocks at dawn, go 
down stairs to make our toilets, and have a cup of hot 
coffee below. By this time the decks are generally washed 
and dried, the hammocks removed, and we can go above 
again. Between then and the breakfast hour, at half 
past ten o'clock, I generally study Portuguese, though 
my lessons are somewhat interrupted by watching the 

most favorable season ! I have resolved to make more numerous stations in the 
upper part of the river and to stay as long as my strength and means will 
allow. Do not think, however, that I forget to whom I owe such a success. 
It is you who have put me on the path, by making known to me the resources 
of the forest, and, better still, by furnishing me with the means to profit by 
them. Thanks, a thousand times, thanks. I ought also to acknowledge the 
assistance afforded me by the agents of the Company, at all the points where 
we have touched. Our amiable commander has also exerted himself, and 
while I explored the lakes in the neighborhood of Villa Bella, he made a 
very fine collection in the Amazons, especially of the numerous small species 
always overlooked by fishermen. On the arrival of the Belem I received 
your kind letter and a part of the alcohol I had asked from Mr. Bond. I 
am writing to-day to ask him to send me a part to Teffe, and, somewhat 
later, more to Manaos. Thank you for the catalogue of Para fishes ; I shall 
give it back pn our return, with the additions I shall make during the re- 
mainder of the voyage. Adieu, my dear friend. 

Ever yours, 

L. Agassiz. 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



197 



shore and the trees, a constant temptation when we are 
coasting along near the banks. At half past ten or eleven 
o'clock breakfast is served, and after that the glare of the 
sun becomes trying, and I usually descend to the cabin, 
where we make up our journals, and write during the 
middle of the day. At three o'clock I consider that the 
working hours are over, and then I take a book and sit 
in my lounging-chair on deck, and watch the scenery, and 
the birds and the turtles, and the alligators if there are 
any, and am lazy in a general way. At five o'clock dinner 
is served, (the meals being always on deck,) and after that 
begins the delight of the day. At that hour it grows de- 
liriously cool, the sunsets are always beautiful, and we go 
to the forward deck and sit there till nine o'clock in the 
evening. Then comes tea, and then to our hammocks ; I 
sleep in mine most profoundly till morning. 

To-day we stopped at a small station on the north side of 
the river called Barreiradas Cudajas. The few houses stand 
on a bank of red drift, slightly stratified in some parts, and 
affording a support for the river-mud, shored up against it. 
Since then, in our progress, we have seen the same forma- 
tion in several localities. 

September \2>ih. — This morning the steamer dropped 
anchor at the little town of Coari on the Coari River, — 
one of the rivers of black water. We were detained at 
this place for some hours, taking in wood ; so slow a process 
here, that an American, accustomed to the rapid methods of 
work at home, looks on in incredulous astonishment. A 
crazy old canoe, with its load of wood, creeps out from the 
shore, the slowness of its advance accounted for by the fact 
that of its two rowers one has a broken paddle, the other a 
long stick, to serve as apologies for oars. When the boat 



198 



A JOURNEY W BRAZIL. 



reaches the side of the steamer, a line of men is formed 
some eight or ten in number, and the wood is passed 
from hand to hand, log by log, each log counted as it 
arrives. Mr. Agassiz timed them this morning, and found 
that they averaged about seven logs a minute. Under 
these circumstances, one can understand that stopping to 
wood is a long affair. Since we left Coari we have been 
coasting along close to the land, the continental shore, 
and not that of an island. The islands are so large and 
numerous in the Amazons, that often when we believe our- 
selves between the northern and southern margins of the 
river, we are in fact between island shores. We have fol- 
lowed the drift almost constantly to-day, — the same red 
drift with which we have become so familiar in South 
America. Sometimes it rises in cliffs and banks above 
the mud deposit, sometimes it crops out through the mud, 
occasionally mingling with it and partially stratified, and in 
one locality it overlaid a gray rock in place, the nature of 
which Mr. Agassiz could not determine, but which was 
distinctly stratified and slightly tilted. The drift is cer- 
tainly more conspicuous as we ascend the river ; is this 
because we approach its source, or because the nature 
of the vegetation allows us to see more of the soil ? 
Since we left Manaos the forest has been less luxuriant; 
it is lower on the Solimoens than on the Amazons, more 
ragged and more open. The palms are also less numerous 
than hitherto, but there is a tree here which rivals them in 
dignity. Its flat dome, rounded but not conical, towers 
above the forest, and, when seen from a distance, has an 
almost architectural character, so regular is its form. This 
majestic tree, called the Sumaumeira (Eriodendron Su- 
mauma), is one of the few trees in this climate which shed 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



199 



their leaves periodically, and now it lifts its broad rounded 
summit above the green mass of vegetation around it, quite 
bare of foliage. Symmetrical as it is, the branches are 
greatly ramified and very knotty. The bark is white. It 
would seem that the season approaches when the Sumaumei- 
ras should take on their green garb again, for a few are 
already beginning to put out young leaves. Beside this 
giant of the forest, the Imbauba (Cecropia), much lower 
here, however, than in Southern Brazil, and the Taxi, 
with its white flowers and brown buds, are very conspicu- 
ous along the banks. Close upon the shore the arrow- 
grass, some five or six feet in height, grows in quantity ; 
it is called " frexas " here, being used by the Indians to 
make their arrows. 

September 14th. — For the last day or two the shore has 
been higher than we have seen it since leaving Manaos. 
We constantly pass cliffs of red drift with a shallow beach 
of mud deposit resting against them ; not infrequently a 
gray rock, somewhat like clay slate, crops out below the 
drift ; this rock is very distinctly stratified, tilting some- 
times to the west, sometimes to the east, always uncon- 
formable with the overlying drift.* The color of the drift 
changes occasionally, being sometimes nearly white in this 
neighborhood instead of red. We are coming now to that 
part of the Amazons where the wide sand-beaches occur, 
the breeding-places of the turtles and alligators. It is not 
yet quite the season for gathering the turtle-eggs, making 
the turtle-butter, &c, but we frequently see the Indian 

* In the course of the investigation, I have ascertained that this slaty rock, 
as well as the hard sandstone seen along the river-hanks at Manaos, forms part 
of the great drift formation of the Amazons, and that there is neither old red 
sandstone, nor trias, here, as older observers supposed. — L. A. 



200 



A JOUBNEY IN BRAZIL. 



huts on the beaches, and their stakes set up for spreading 
and drying fish, which is one of the great articles of 
commerce here. This morning we have passed several 
hours off the town of Ega, or Teffe' as the Brazilians 
call it. It takes its name from the river Teffe, but the 
town itself stands on a small lake, formed by the river 
just before it joins the Amazons. The entrance to the 
lake, which is broken by a number of little channels or 
igarapds, and the approach to the town, are exceedingly 
pretty. The town itself, with a wide beach in front, stand- 
ing on the slope of a green hill, where sheep and cattle, 
a rare sight in this region, are grazing, looks very inviting. 
We examined it with interest, for some of the party at 
least will return to this station for the purpose of making 
collections. 

September 13th. — For the last two or three days we have 
been holding frequent discussions as to the best dispo- 
sition of our forces after reaching Tabatinga ; — a source 
of great anxiety to Mr. Agassiz, the time we have to 
spend being so short, and the subjects of investigation 
so various and so important. Should he give up the 
idea of continuing, in person, his study of the fishes in 
the upper Amazons, leaving only some parties to make 
collections, and going himself into Peru, to visit at least 
the first spur of the Andes, with the purpose of ascer- 
taining whether any vestiges of glaciers are to be found 
in the valleys, and also of making a collection of fishes 
from the mountain streams ; or should he renounce the 
journey into Peru for the present, and, making a station 
somewhere in this region for the next month or two, com- 
plete, as far as may be, his investigation of the distribution 
and development of fishes in the Solimoens ? Had the 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



201 



result of the Peruvian journey been more certain, the 
decision would have been easier ; but it is more than 
likely that the torrential rains of this latitude have de- 
composed the surface and swept away all traces of glaciers, 
if they ever existed at so low a level. To go on, therefore, 
seemed a little like giving up a certain for an uncertain 
result. Earnestly desirous of making the best use of his 
time and opportunities here, this doubt has disturbed Mr. 
Agassiz's waking and sleeping thoughts for several days 
past. Yesterday morning, at Teffe, a most unexpected 
adviser appeared in the midst of our council of war. 
Insignificant in size, this individual, nevertheless, brought 
great weight to the decision. The intruder was a small 
fish with his mouth full of young ones. The practical 
plea was irresistible, — embryology carried the day. A 
chance of investigating so extraordinary a process of de- 
velopment, not only in this species but in several others 
said to rear their young in the same fashion, was not to 
be thrown away ; and, besides, there was the prospect of 
making a collection and a series of colored drawings, from 
the life, of the immense variety of fishes in the river and 
lake of Teffe, and perhaps of studying the embryology of 
the turtles and alligators in their breeding season. Mr. 
Agassiz, therefore, decides to return to Teffe' with his 
artist and two or three other assistants, and to make a 
station there for a month at least, leaving Mr. Bourget, 
with our Indian fisherman, at Tabatinga to collect in that 
region, and sending Mr. James and Mr. Talisman to the 
river Putumayo, or I§a, and afterwards to the Hyutahy 
for the same purpose. This dispersion of parties to col- 
lect simultaneously in different areas, divided from each 
other by considerable distances, will show how the fishes 
9* 



202 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



are distributed, and whether their combinations differ in 
these localities as they have been found to do in the 
Lower Amazons. 

I insert here a letter to the Emperor on the subject of 
this curious fish, which happened to be one which Mr. 
Agassiz had formerly dedicated to him. 

Teffe, 14 Septembre, 1865. 

Sire: — En arrivant ici ce matin j'ai eu la surprise la 
plus agre*able et la plus inattendue. Le premier poisson 
qui me fut apporte* £tait l'Acara que votre Majesty a bien 
voulu me permettre de lui dedier et par un bonheur inoui 
c'etait l'epoque de la ponte et il avait la bouche pleine de 
petits vivants, en voie de developpement. Yoila done le 
fait le plus incroyable en embryologie pleinement con- 
firme, et il ne me reste plus qu'a etudier en detail et a 
loisir tous les changements que subissent ces petits jus- 
qu'au moment ou ils quittent leur singulier nid, afin que 
je puisse publier un recit complet de cette singuliere 
histoire. Mes previsions sur la distribution des poissons 
se confirment ; le fleuve est habite par plusieurs faunes 
ichthyologiques tres distinctes, qui n'ont pour lien com- 
mun qu'un tres petit nombre d'especes qu'on rencontre 
partout. II reste maintenant a pre'eiser les limites de 
ces regions ichthyologiques et peut-etre me laisserai-je 
entrainer a consacrer quelque temps a cette e*tude, si je 
trouve les moyens d'y parvenir. II y a maintenant une 
question qui devient fort inte'ressante, e'est de savoir 
jusqu'a quel point le meme phenom&ne se reproduit dans 
chacun des grands affluents du Rio Amazonas, ou en 
d'autres termes si les poissons des regions superieures du 
Rio Madeira et du Rio Negro, etc., etc., sont les memes 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



203 



que ceux da cours infe'rieur de ces fleuves. Quant a la 
diversity meme des poissons du bassin tout entier mes 
provisions sont de beaucoup ddpassees. Avant d'arriver 
a Manaos j'avais deja recueilli plus de trois cents esp&ces, 
c. a. d. le triple des especes connues jusqu'a ce jour au 
moins. La moitie environ out pu etre peintes sur le vivant 
par M. Burkhardt ; ensorte que si je puis parvenir a publier 
tous ces documents, les renseignements que je pourrai four- 
nir sur ce sujet depasseront de beaucoup tout ce que Ton 
a public jusqu'a ce jour. 

Je serais bien heureux d'apprendre que Votre Majesty 
n'a pas rencontre' de difficulte's dans son voyage et qu'Elle 
a atteint pleinement le but qu'Elle se proposait. Nous 
sommes ici sans nouvelles du Sud, depuis que nous avons 
quitte Bio, et tout ce que nous avions appris alors etait 
qu'apres une traversed assez orageuse votre Majeste avait 
atteint le Rio Grande. Que Dieu protege et benisse votre 
Majeste ! Avec les sentiments du plus profond respect et 
de la reconnaissance la plus vive, 

Je suis de votre Majeste' 

le tr£s humble et tres obeissant serviteur, 

L. Agassiz.* 

* Teffe, 14 September, 1865. 
Sire : — On arriving here this morning I had the most agreeable and unex- 
pected surprise. The first fish brought to me was the Acara, which your 
Majesty kindly permitted me to dedicate to you, and by an unlooked-for 
good fortune it was the breeding season, and it had its mouth full of little 
young ones in the process of development. Here, then, is the most incredible 
fact in embryology fully confirmed, and it remains for me only to study, 
in detail and at leisure, all the changes which the young undergo up to the 
moment when they leave their singular nest, in order that I may publish 
a complete account of this curious history. My anticipations as to the 
distribution of fishes are confirmed; the river is inhabited by several very 
distinct ichthyological faunae, which have, as a common link, only a very 



204 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



The character of the banks yesterday and to-day continues 
unchanged ; they are rather high, rising now and then in 
bluffs and presenting the same mixture of reddish drift and 
mud deposit, with the gray, slaty rock below, cropping out 
occasionally. This morning we are stopping to wood at a 
station opposite the village of Fonte B6a. Here Mr. Agassiz 
has had an opportunity of going on shore and examining this 
formation. He finds a thick bed of ferruginous sandstone 
underlying a number of thinner beds of mud clay, resem- 
bling old clay slate with cleavage. These beds are overlaid 
by a bank of ochre-colored sandy clay (designated as drift 
above), with hardly any signs of stratification. Yesterday 
we passed several lakes, shut out from the river by mud- 

small number of species to be met with everywhere. It remains now to as- 
certain with precision the limits of these ichthyological regions, and I may 
perhaps be drawn on to devote some time to tbis study, if I find the means 
of accomplishing it. There is a question which now becomes very interest- 
ing ; it is to know how far the same phenomenon is reproduced in each one of 
the great affluents of the river Amazons, or, in other words, whether the fishes 
of the upper regions of the Rio Madeira, the Rio Negro, &c., &c, are the same 
as those of the lower course of these rivers. As to the diversity of fishes in 
the whole basin, my expectations are far surpassed. Before arriving at Manaos 
I had already collected more than three hundred species, that is to say, at least 
three times the number of species thus far known. About half have been paint- 
ed from life by Mr. Burkhardt ; if I can succeed in publishing all these docu- 
ments, the information I shall be able to furnish on this subject will exceed all 
that has been thus far made known. I should be very glad to learn that your 
Majesty has not met with difficulties on the voyage, and has been able fully to 
accomplish the ends proposed. We are here without news from the South 
since we left Rio, and all we had learned then was, that after a very stormy 
passage your Majesty had reached the Rio Grande. May God protect and 
bless your Majesty ! 

With sentiments of the most profound respect and the liveliest grati- 
tude, I am 

Your Majesty's very humble and obedient servant, 

L. Agassiz. 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



205 



bars, and seemingly haunted by waterfowl. In one we saw 
immense flocks of what looked at that distance either 
like red Ibises or red spoonbills, and also numbers of 
gulls. Our sportsmen looked longingly at them, and are 
impatient for the time when we shall be settled on land, 
and they can begin to make havoc among the birds. 

September 17th. — Last evening we took in wood from 
the shore some miles below the town of Tonantins. I sat 
watching the Indians on the bank, of whom there were 
some fifteen or twenty, men, women, and children ; the 
men loading the wood, the women and children being 
there apparently to look on. They had built a fire on 
the bank, and hung their nets or cotton tents, under which 
they sleep, on the trees behind. They made a wild group, 
passing to and fro in the light of the fire, the care of which 
seemed the special charge of a tall, gaunt, weird-looking 
woman, who would have made a good Meg Merrilies. 
She seemed to have but one garment, — a long, brown, 
stuff robe, girt round the waist; as she strode about the 
fire, throwing on fresh logs and stirring the dying em- 
bers, the flames blazed up in her face, lighting her tawny 
skin and long, unkempt hair, flickering over the figures of 
women and children about her, and shedding a warm glow 
over the forest which made the setting to the picture. This 
is the only very tall Indian woman I have seen ; usually 
the women are rather short of stature. When the Indians 
had made their preparations for the night, they heaped 
damp fuel on the fire till it smouldered down and threw 
out thick clouds of smoke, enveloping the sleeping-tents, 
and no doubt driving off effectually the clouds of mosqui- 
toes, from which the natives seem as great sufferers as 
strangers. These upper stations on the Amazons are 



206 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



haunted by swarms of mosquitoes a,t night, and during 
the day by a little biting fly called Pium, no less annoy- 
ing. 

September l%th. — Another pause last evening at the vil- 
lage of San Paolo, standing on a ridge which rises quite 
steeply from the river and sinks again into a ravine be- 
hind. Throughout all this region the banks are eaten away 
by the river, large portions falling into the water at a time, 
and carrying the trees with them. These land-slides are 
so frequent and so extensive as to make travelling along 
the banks in small boats quite dangerous. The scenery 
of the Solimoens is by no means so interesting as that of 
the Lower Amazons. The banks are ragged and broken, 
the forest lower, less luxuriant, and the palm growth very 
fitful. For a day or two past we . have scarcely seen any 
palms. One kind seems common, however, namely, the 
Paxiuba Barriguda — Pa-shee-oo-ba (Iriartea ventricosa), 
a species not unlike the Assai in dignity of port, but 
remarkable for the swelling of its stem at half height, 
giving it a sort of spindle shape. The cut of the foliage 
is peculiar also, each leaflet being wedge-shaped. The 
steamer is often now between the shores of the river itself 
instead of coasting along by the many lovely islands which 
make the voyage between Para and Manaos so diversified ; 
what is thus gained in dimensions is lost in picturesqueness 
of detail. Then the element of human life and habitations 
is utterly wanting ; one often travels for a day without 
meeting even so much as a hut. But if men are not to 
be seen, animals are certainly plenty ; as our steamer puffs 
along, great flocks of birds rise up from the shore, turtles 
pop their black noses out of the water, alligators show 
themselves occasionally, and sometimes a troop of brown 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



207 



Capivari scuttles up the bank, taking refuge in the trees 
at our approach. To-morrow morning we reach Tabatinga, 
and touch the farthest point of our journey. 

September 20th. — On Monday evening we arrived at Ta- 
batinga, remaining there till Wednesday morning to dis- 
charge the cargo, — a lengthy process, with the Brazilian 
method of working. Tabatinga is the frontier town between 
Brazil and Peru, and is dignified by the name of a military 
station, though when one looks at the two or three small 
mounted guns on the bank, the mud house behind them 
constituting barracks, with half a dozen soldiers lounging 
in front of it, one cannot but think that the fortification is 
not a very formidable one.* The town itself standing on a 
mud bluff, deeply ravined and cracked in many directions,' 
consists of some dozen ruinous houses built around an open 
square. Of the inhabitants I saw but little, for it was to- 
ward evening when I went on shore, and they were already 
driven under shelter by the mosquitoes. One or two looked 
out from their doors and gave me a friendly warning not to 
proceed unless I was prepared to be devoured, and indeed 
the buzzing swarm about me soon drove me back to the 

* At this point the Amazonian meets the Peruvian steamer, and they 
exchange cargoes. Formerly the Brazilian company of Amazonian steamers 
extended its line of travel to Laguna, at the mouth of the Huallaga. Now 
this part of the journey has passed into the hands of a Peruvian company, 
whose steamers run up to Urimaguas on the Huallaga. They are, however, 
by no means so comfortable as the Brazilian steamers, having little or no 
accommodation for passengers. The upper Maranon is navigable for large 
steamers as far as Jaen, as are also its tributaries, the Huallaga and 
Ucayali on. the south, the Moronha, Pastazza, and Napo on the north, to 
a great distance above their junction with the main stream. There is 
reason to believe that all these larger affluents of the Amazons will before 
long have their regular lines of steamers like the great river itself. The 
opening of the Amazons, no doubt, will hasten this result. — L. A. 



208 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



steamer. The mosquitoes by night and the Piums by day 
are said to render life almost intolerable here. Under these 
circumstances we could form little idea of the character of 
the vegetation in our short stay. But we made the ac- 
quaintance of one curious palm, the Tucum, a species of 
Astrocaryum, the fibre of which makes an excellent material 
for weaving hammocks, fishing-nets, and the like. It is grad- 
ually becoming an important article of commerce. The 
approach to Tabatinga, with two or three islands in the 
neighborhood, numerous igarapes opening out of the river, 
and the Hyavary emptying into it, is, however, one of the 
prettiest parts of the Solimoens. We found here four 
members of a Spanish scientific commission, who have 
been travelling several years in South and Central Ameri- 
ca, and whose track we have crossed several times without 
meeting them. They welcomed the arrival of the steamer 
with delight, having awaited their release at Tabatinga for 
two or three weeks. The party consisted of Drs. Alma- 
gro, Spada, Martinez, and Isern. They had just accom- 
plished an adventurous journey, having descended the 
Napo on a raft, which their large collection of live ani- 
mals had turned into a sort of Noah's ark. After various 
risks and exposures they had arrived at Tabatinga, having 
lost almost all their clothing, except what they wore, by 
shipwreck. Fortunately, their papers and collections were 
saved.* We are now on our way down the river again, 
having left Mr. Bourget at Tabatinga to pass a month in 
making collections in that region, and dropped Mr. James 

* These gentlemen descended the river with us as far as Teffe, and we 
afterwards heard of their safe arrival in Madrid. They had, however, 
suffered much in health, and Mr. Isern died soon after his return to his native 
land. 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



209 



and Mr. Talisman last evening at San Paolo, where they are 
to get a canoe and Indians for their further journey to the 
Iga. This morning, while stopping to wood at Fonte B6a, 
Mr. Agassiz went on shore and collected a very interesting 
series of fossil plants in the lower mud deposit ; he was also 
very successful in making a small collection of fishes, con- 
taining several new species, during the few hours we passed 
at this place. 

September 25th. — Teffe\ On Friday, the day after my last 
date, we were within two or three hours of Teffe ; we had 
just finished packing our various effects, and were closing 
our letters to be mailed from Manaos, when the steamer 
came to a sudden pause with that dead, sullen, instan- 
taneous stop which means mischief. The order to reverse 
the engines was given instantly, but we had driven with 
all our force into the bed of the river, and there we 
remained, motionless. This is sometimes rather a serious 
accident at the season when the waters are falling, steamers 
having been occasionally stranded for a number of weeks. 
It is not easily guarded against, the river bottom changing 
so constantly and so suddenly that even the most experi- 
enced pilots cannot always avoid disaster. They may pass 
with perfect safety in their upward voyage over a place 
where, on their return, they find a formidable bank of mud. 
During three hours the crew worked ineffectually, trying to 
back the steamer off, or sinking the anchor at a distance to 
drag her back upon it. At five o'clock in the afternoon the 
sky began to look black and lowering, and presently a vio- 
lent squall, with thunder and rain, broke upon us. The 
wind did, in an instant, what man and steam together had 
failed to do in hours. As the squall struck the steamer on 
her side, she vibrated, veered and floated free. There was 

N 



210 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



a general stir of delight at this sudden and unexpected 
liberation, for the delay was serious to all. One or two 
of the passengers were merchants, to whom it was impor- 
tant to meet the steamer of the 25th at Manaos, which 
connects with other steamers all along the coast ; and the 
members of the Spanish scientific commission, if they could 
not at once transfer their effects to the other steamer, would 
not only miss the next European steamer, but must be at 
the expense and care of storing their various luggage and 
maintaining their live stock at Manaos for a fortnight. 
And lastly, to Mr. Agassiz himself it was a serious disap- 
pointment to lose two or three days out of the precious 
month for investigations at Teffe\ Therefore, every face 
beamed when the kindly shock of the wind set us afloat 
again ; but the work, so vainly spent to release us, was 
but too efficient in keeping us prisoners. The anchor, 
which had been sunk in the mud at some distance, was so 
deeply buried that it was difficult to raise it, and in the 
effort to do so we grounded again. Indeed, environed 
as we were by mud and sand, it was no easy matter to 
find a channel out of them. We now remained motion- 
less all night, though the Captain was unremitting in his 
efforts and kept the men at work till morning, when, at 
about seven o'clock, the boat worked herself free at last, 
and we thought our troubles fairly over. But the old prov- 
erb "There 's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip" never 
was truer ; on starting once more we found that, in the 
strain and shock to which the ship had been submitted, 
the rudder was broken. In view of this new disaster, the 
passengers for Para gave up all hope of meeting the 
steamer at Manaos, and the rest resigned themselves to 
waiting with such philosophy as they could muster. The 



LIFE AT MANAOS. 



211 



whole of that day and the following night were spent in 
rigging up a new rudder, and it was not until eight o'clock 
on Sunday morning that we were once more on our way, 
arriving at Teffe' at eleven o'clock. 



212 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

LIFE IN TEFFE. 

Aspect of Teffe. — Situation. — Description of Houses. — Fishing Excur- 
sion. — Astonishing Variety of Fishes. — Acara. — Scarcity of Labor- 
ers. — Our indoors Man. — Bruno. — Alexandrina. — Pleasant Walks. 

— mandioca - shed in the forest. — indian encampment on the 
Beach. — Excursion to Fishing Lodge on the Solimoens. — Amazonian 
Beaches. — Breeding-Places of Turtles, Fishes, etc. — Adroitness of 
Indians in finding them. — Description of a "Sitio." — Indian Clay- 
Eaters. — Cuieira-Tree. — Fish Hunt. — Forest Lake. — Water Birds. 

— Success in collecting. — Evening Scene in Sitio. — Alexandrina as 
"aide scientifique." — Fish Anecdote. — Relations between Fishes 
as shown by their Embryology. — Note upon the Marine Character 
of the Amazonian Faunae. — Acara. — News from the Parties in the 
Interior. — Return of Party from the Ica. — Preparations for De- 
parture. — Note on General Result of Scientific Work in Teffe. 

— Waiting for the Steamer. — Sketch of Alexandrina. — Mocuim. 

— Thunder-Storm. — Repiquete. — Geological Observations. 

September 27th. — Of all the little settlements we have 
seen on the Amazons, Teffe looks the most smiling and 
pleasant. Just now the town, or, as it should rather be 
called, the village, stands, as I have said, above a broad 
sand-beach ; in the rainy season, however, we are told that 
the river covers this beach completely, and even encroaches 
on the fields beyond, coming almost to the threshold of some 
of the dwellings. The houses are generally built of mud, 
plastered over and roofed with tiles, or thatched with palm. 
Almost all have a little ground about them, enclosed in a 
picket fence, and planted with orange-trees and different 
kinds of palms, — Cocoa-nut, Assais, and Pupunhas or 
peach-palms. The latter bears, in handsome clusters, a 
fruit not unlike the peach in size and coloring ; it has a 
mealy character when cooked, and is very palatable, eaten 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



213 



with sugar. The green hill behind the town, on which 
cows and sheep are grazing,* slopes up to the forest, and 
makes a pretty background to the picture. In approaching 
the village, many little inlets of the lake and river give 
promise of pleasant canoe excursions. Through our friend 
Major Coutinho we had already bespoken lodgings, and 
to-day finds us as comfortably established as it is possible 
for such wayfarers to be. Our house stands on an open 
green field, running down to the water, and is enclosed 
only on two sides by buildings. In front, it commands a 
pretty view of the beach and of the opposite shore across 
the water. Behind, it has a little open ground planted 
with two or three orange-trees, surrounding a turtle-tank, 
which will be very convenient for keeping live specimens. 
A well-stocked turtle-tank is to be found in almost every 
yard, as the people depend largely upon turtles for their 
food. The interior of the house is very commodious. On 
the right of the flagged entry is a large room already 
transformed into a laboratory. Here are numerous kegs, 
cans, and barrels for specimens, a swinging-shelf to keep 
birds and insects out of the way of the ants, a table for 
drawing, and an immense empty packing-case, one side 
of which serves as a table for cleaning and preparing 
birds, while the open space beneath makes a convenient 
cupboard for keeping the instruments and materials of 
one sort and another, used in the process. After a little 

* It is a curious fact, that though a large number of cows were owned in 
Teffe, and were constantly seen feeding about the houses, milk was among the 
unattainable luxuries. Indeed, milk is little used in Brazil, so far as our 
observation goes. It is thought unhealthy for children, and people will 
rather give coffee or tea to a two-year-old baby than pure milk. The cows 
are never milked regularly, but the quantity needed for the moment is drawn 
at any time. 



214 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



practice in travelling one learns to improvise the conven- 
iences for work almost without the accessories which seem 
indispensable at home. Opposite to the laboratory on the 
other side of the entry is a room of the same size, where 




Veranda and Dining-room at Teffe\ 



the gentlemen have slung their hammocks ; back of this is 
my room, from the window of which, looking into the court 
behind, 1 get a glimpse of some lovely Assai palms and one 
or two orange-trees in full flower ; adjoining that is the 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



215 



dining-room, with a large closet leading out of it, used 
as a storage-place for alcohol, and serving at this moment 
as a prison-house for two live alligators who are awaiting 
execution there. The news of our arrival has already 
gone abroad, and the fishermen and boys of the village 
are bringing in specimens of all sorts, — alligators, turtles, 
fish, insects, birds. Enough is already gathered to show 
what a rich harvest may be expected in this neighborhood. 

September 28th. — Yesterday afternoon, between sunset 
and moonlight, our neighborDr. Romualdo invited us to go 
with him and his friend Senhor Joao da Cunha on a fishing 
excursion into one of the pretty bayous that open out to the 
lake. As our canoe entered it, lazy alligators were lying 
about in the still glassy water, with their heads just resting 
above the surface ; a tall, gray heron stood on the shore, 
as if watching his reflection, almost as distinct as himself, 
and a variety of water-birds sailed over our heads as we 
intruded upon their haunts. When we had reached a 
certain point, the Indians sprang up to their necks in the 
water, (which was, by the way, unpleasantly warm,) and 
stretched the net. After a few minutes, they dragged it 
into shore with a load of fish, which seemed almost as 
wonderful as Peter's miraculous draught. As the net was 
landed the fish broke from it in hundreds, springing through 
the meshes and over the edges, and literally covering the 
beach. The Indians are very skilful in drawing the net, 
going before it and lashing the water with long rods to 
frighten the fish and drive them in. Senhor da Cunha, 
who is a very ardent lover of the sport, worked as hard 
as any of the boatmen, plunging into the water to lend 
a hand at the net or drive in the fish, and, when the 
draught was landed on the beach, rushing about in the 



216 



A JOURNEY IN BEAZIL. 



mud to catch the little fishes which jumped in myriads 
through the meshes, with an enthusiasm equal to that 
of Mr. Agassiz himself. The operation was repeated sev- 
eral times, always with the same success, and we re- 
turned by moonlight with a boat-load of fish, which Mr. 
Agassiz is examining this morning, while Mr. Burkhardt 
makes colored drawings of the rarer specimens. Here, 
as elsewhere in the Amazonian waters, the variety of 
species is bewildering. The collections already number 
more than four hundred, including those from Para, and, 
while every day brings in new species, new genera are by 
no means infrequent. The following letter to Professor 
Milne Edwards, of the Jardin des Plantes, gives some ac- 
count of the work in this department. 

Teffe, le 22 Septembre, 1865. 

Mon cher Ami et tres honors Confrere : — Me voici 
depuis deux mois dans le bassin de l'Amazone et c'est 
ici que j'ai eu la douleur de recevoir la nouvelle de la mort 
de mon vieil ami Valenciennes. J'en suis d'autant plus 
affecte que personne plus que lui n'aurait apprecie' les 
resultats de mon voyage, dont je me rejouissais deja de lui 
faire part prochainement. Vous concevrez naturellement 
que c'est a la classe des poissons que je consacre la meilleure 
partie de mon temps et ma'recolte excede toutes mes pre- 
visions. Yous en jugerez par quelques donnees. En at- 
teignant Manaos, a la jonction du Rio Negro et de l'Ama- 
zonas, j'avais deja recueilli plus de trois cents especes de 
poissons, dont la moitie au moins ont e'te peintes sur le 
vivant c. a. d. d'apres le poisson nageant dans un grand 
vase en verre devant mon dessinateur. Je suis souvent 
peine' de voir avec quelle legerete on a public des planches 
coloriees de ces animaux. Ce n'est pas seulement tripler 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



217 



le nombre des espetees connues, je compte les genres nou- 
veaux par douzaines et j'ai cinq ou six families nouvelles 
pour l'Amazone et une voisine des Gobioides entierement 
nouvelle pour l'lchthyologie. C'est surtout parmi les petites 
especes que je trouve le plus de nouveautes. J'ai des Cha- 
racins de cinq a six centimetres et au-dessous, ornes des 
teintes les plus elegantes, des Cyprinodontes, se rapprochant 
un peu de ceux de Cuba et des Etats-Unis, des Scomber^so- 
ces voisins du Belone de la Me'diterrane'e, un nombre consi- 
derable de Carapoides, des Raies de genres differents de ceux 
de l'ocean, et qui par consequent ne sont pas des especes 
qui remontent le fleuve. Une foule de Goniodontes et 
de Chromides de genres et d'especes inedits. Mais ce que 
j'apprdcie surtout c'est la facilite* que j'ai d'etudier les 
changements que tous ces poissons subissent avec l'&ge et 
les differences de sexe qui existent entr'eux et qui sont 
souvent tres considerables. C'est ainsi que j'ai observe* 
une espece de Geopbagus dont le male porte sur le 
front une bosse tres-saillante qui manque entierement a la 
femelle et aux jeunes. Ce meme poisson a un mode de 
reproduction des plus extraordinaires. Les oeufs passent, 
je ne sais trop comment, dans la bouclie dont ils tapissent 
le fond, entre les appendices interieurs des arcs branchiaux 
et surtout dans une poche formee par les pharyngiens su- 
perieurs qu'ils remplissent completement. La ils eclosent 
et les petits, libere's de leur coque, se developpent jusqu'a 
ce qu'ils soient en e*tat de fournir a leur existence. Je ne 
sais pas encore combien de temps cela va durer ; mais j'ai 
deja rencontre des exemplaires dont les jeunes n'avaient 
plus de sac vitellaire, qui hebergeaient encore leur progeni- 
ture. Comme je passerai environ un mois a Teffe, j'espere 
pouvoir completer cette observation. L'examen de la 
10 



218 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



structure d'un grand nombre de Chromides m'a fait en- 
trevoir des affinites entre ces poissons et diverses autres 
families dont on ne s'est jamais avise de les rapprocher. Et 
d'abord je me suis convaincu que les Chromides, rdpartis 
autrefois parmi les Labroides et les Scienoides, constituent 
bien reellement un groupe naturel, reconnu a peu pres en 
meme temps et d'une maniere independante par Heckel et 
J. Miiller. Mais il y a plus ; les genres Enoplosus, Pomotis, 
Centrarchus et quelques autres genres voisins, ranges 
parmi les Percoides par tous les Ichthyologistes, me pa- 
raissent, d'ici et sans moyen de comparaison directe, telle- 
ment Toisins des Chromides que je ne vois pas comment 
on pourra les en separer, surtout maintenant que je sais 
que les pharyngiens inferieurs ne sont pas toujours soudes 
chez les Chromides. Et puis l'embryologie et les meta- 
morphoses des Chromides que je viens d'e'tudier m'ont 
convaincu que les " Poissons a branchies labyrinthiques " 
separes de tous les autres poissons par Cuvier comme une 
famille entierement isolee, a raison de la structure Strange 
de ses organes respiratoires, se rattachent de tres-pres aux 
Chromides. Ce groupe devient ainsi par ses affinites variees, 
l'un des plus interessants de la classe des poissons, et le 
bassin de 1'Amazone parait etre la vraie patrie de cette 
famille. Je ne veux pas vous fatiguer de mes recherches 
ichthyologiques ; permettez moi seulement d'aj outer que 
les poissons ne sont point uniformement repandus dans ce 
grand bassin. Deja j'ai acquis la certitude qu'il faut y 
distinguer plusieurs faunes ichthyologiques, tres-nettement 
characterisees ; c'est ainsi que les especes qui habitent la 
riviere du Pard, des bords de la mer jusque vers l'embou- 
chure du Tocantins, different de celles que Ton rencontre 
dans le r£seau d' anastomoses qui unissent la riviere de Para 



LIFE IN TEFFE\ 



219 



a l'Amazone propre. Les especes de 1' Amazone, au-dessous 
du Xingu, different de celles que j'ai rencontrees plus liaut ; 
celles du cours inferieur du Xingu, different de celles du 
cours inferieur du Tapajos. Celles des nombreux igarapes 
et lacs de Manaos different egalement de celles du cours 
principal du grand fleuve et de ses principaux affluents. 
II reste maintenant a etudier les cliangements qui peuvent 
survenir dans cette distribution, dans le cours de l'anne'e, 
suivant la hauteur des eaux et peut-etre aussi suivant 
l'epoque a laquelle les differentes especes pondent leurs 
oeufs. Jusqu'a present je n'ai rencontre qu'un petit 
nombre d'especes qui aient une aire de distribution tres 
etendue. C'est ainsi que le Sudis gigas se trouve a-peu- 
pres partout. C'est le poisson le plus important du fleuve ; 
celui qui comme aliment remplace le betail pour les popula- 
tions riveraines. Un autre probleme a resoudre c'est de 
savoir jusqu'a quel point les grands affluents de l'Amazone 
repetent ce phenomene de la distribution locale des poissons. 
Je vais chercher a le resoudre en remontant le Rio Negro 
et le Rio Madeira et comme je reviendrai a Manaos, je 
pourrai comparer mes premieres observations dans cette 
localite, avec celles d'une autre saison de l'annee. Adieu, 
mon cher ami. Yeuillez faire mes amities a M. Elie de 
Beaumont et me rappeler aux bons souvenirs de ceux de 
mes collogues de l'Academie qui veulent bien s'interesser a 
mes travaux actuels. Faites aussi, je vous prie, mes amities 
a M. votre fils. 

Tout a vous, 

L. Agassiz.* 

* Teffe, September 22, 1865. 
My deak Friend and honored Colleague : — Here 1 have been for 
two months in the basin of the Amazons, and it is here that I have heard 
with sorrow of the death of my old friend Valenciennes. I am the more 



220 



A JOUENEY IN BRAZIL. 



Mr. Agassiz has already secured quite a number of the 
singular type of Acara, which carries its young in its mouth, 

affected by it, because no one would have appreciated more than he the 
results of my journey, which I had hoped soon to share with him. You 
will naturally understand that it is to the class of fishes I consecrate the 
better part of my time, and my harvest exceeds all my anticipations. You 
will judge of it by a few statements. 

On reaching Manaos, at the junction of the Eio Negro and the Amazons, 
I had already collected more than three hundred species of fishes, half of 
which have been painted from life, that is, from the fish swimming in a 
large glass tank before my artist. I am often pained to see how carelessly 
colored plates of these animals have been published. Not only have we tripled 
the number of species, but I count new genera by dozens, and I have five or 
six new families for the Amazons, and one allied to the Gobioides entirely 
new to Ichthyology. Among the small species especially I have found nov- 
elties. I have Characines of five or six centimetres and less, adorned with 
the most beautiful tints, Cyprinodonts resembling a little those of Cuba and 
the United States, Scomberesoces allied to the Belone of the Mediterranean, 
a considerable number of Carapoides, and Rays of different genera from those 
of the ocean, and therefore not species which ascend the river ; and a crowd 
of Goniodonts and Chromides of unpublished genera and species. But what 
I appreciate most highly is the facility I have for studying the changes which 
all these fishes undergo with age and the differences of sex among them ; which 
are often very considerable. Thus I have observed a species of Geophagus in 
which the male has a very conspicuous protuberance on the forehead, wholly 
wanting in the female and the young. This same fish has a most extraordi- 
nary mode of reproduction. The eggs pass, I know not how, into the mouth, 
the bottom of which is lined by them, between the inner appendages of the 
branchial arches, and especially into a pouch, formed by the upper pharyngials, 
which they completely fill. There they are hatched, and the little ones, freed 
from the egg-case, are developed until they are in a condition to provide for 
their own existence. I do not yet know how long this continues ; but I have 
already met with specimens whose young had no longer any vitelline sac, but 
were still harbored by the progenitor. As I shall still pass a month at Teffe 
I hope to be able to complete this observation. The examination of the struc- 
ture of a great number of Chromides has led me to perceive the affinities be- 
tween these fishes and several other families with which we have never thought 
of associating them. In the first place, I have convinced myself that the Chro- 
mides, formerly scattered among the Labroides and the Sciamoides, really con- 
stitute a natural group recognized nearly at the same time and in an indepen- 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



221 



and he lias gathered a good deal of information about its 
habits. The fishermen here say that this mode of caring 

dent manner by Heckel and J. Miiller. But, beside these, there are the genera 
Enoplosus, Pomotis, Centrarchus, and some other neighboring genera, classed 
among the Percoids by all Ichthyologists, which seem to me, from this distance 
and without means of direct comparison, so near the Chromides that I do not 
see how they can be separated, especially now that I know the lower pharyn- 
gials not to be invariably soldered in the Chromides. And then the embryol- 
ogy and metamorphoses of the Chromides, Avhich I have just been studying, 
have convinced me that the fishes with labyrinthic branchiae, separated from all 
other fishes by Cuvier, as a family entirely isolated on account of the strange 
structure of its respiratory organs, are closely related to the Chromides. Thus 
this group becomes, by its various affinities, one of the most interesting of the 
class of fishes, and the basin of the Amazons seems to be the true home of this 
family. I will not fatigue you with my ichthyological researches ; let me only 
add, that the fishes are not uniformly spread over this great basin. I have 
already acquired the certainty that we must distinguish several ichthyological 
faunae very clearly characterized. Thus the species inhabiting the river of 
Para, from the borders of the sea to the mouth of the Tocantins, differ from 
those which are met in the network of anastomoses uniting the river of Para 
with the Amazons proper. The species of the Amazons below the Xingu 
differ from those which occur higher up ; those of the lower course of the 
Xingu differ from those of the lower course of the Tapajoz. Those of the 
numerous igarapes and lakes of Manaos differ as much from those of the 
principal course of the great river and of its great affluents. It remains now 
to study the changes which may take place in this distribution in the course 
of the year, according to the height of the waters, and perhaps also accord- 
ing to the epoch at which the different species lay their eggs. Thus far I 
have met but a small number of species having a very extensive area of dis- 
tribution. One of those is the Sudis gigas, found almost everywhere. It is 
the most important fish of the river, that which, as food, corresponds to cattle 
for the population along the banks. Another problem to be solved is, how far 
this phenomenon of the local distribution of fishes is repeated in the great 
affluents of the Amazons. I shall try to solve it in ascending the Rio Negro 
and Rio Madeira, and as I return to Manaos I shall be able to compare my 
first observations in this locality with those of another season of the year. 
Adieu, my dear friend. Remember me to M. Elie de Beaumont and to those 
of my colleagues of the Academy who are interested in my present studies. 
My kind remembrance also to your son. 

Always yours, 

L. Agassiz. 



222 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



for the young prevails more or less in all the family of 
Acara. They are not all born there, however ; some lay 
their eggs in the sand, and, hovering over their nest, 
take up the little ones in their mouth, when they are 
hatched. The fishermen also add, that these fish do not 
always keep their young in the mouth, hut leave them 
sometimes in the nest, taking them up only on the approach 
of danger.* 

* We found that this information was incorrect, at least for some species, as 
will he seen hereafter. I let the statement stand in the text, however, as an 
instance of the difficulty one has in getting correct facts, and the danger of 
trusting to the observations even of people who mean to tell the real truth. No 
doubt some of these Acaras do occasionally deposit their young in the sand, 
and continue a certain care of them till they are able to shift for themselves. 
But the story of the fisherman was one of those half truths as likely to mislead, 
as if it had been wholly false. I will add here a few details concerning these 
Acaras, a name applied by the natives to all the oval-shaped Chromides. The 
species which lay their eggs in the sand belong to the genera Hydrogonus and 
Chaetobranchus. Like the North American Pomotis, they build a kind of flat 
nest in the sand or mud, in which they deposit their eggs, hovering over them 
until the young are hatched. The species which carry their young in the 
mouth belong to several genera, formerly all included under the name of 
Geophagus by Heckel. I could not ascertain how the eggs are brought into 
the mouth, but the change must take place soon after they are laid, for I have 
found in that position eggs in which the embryo had just begun its develop- 
ment as well as those in a more advanced stage of growth. Occasionally, in- 
stead of eggs, I have found the cavity of the gills, as also the space enclosed by 
the branchiostegal membrane, filled with a brood of young already hatched. 
The eggs before hatching are always found in the same part of the mouth, 
namely, in the upper part of the branchial arches, protected or held together by 
a special lobe or valve formed of the upper pharyngeals. The cavity thus oc- 
cupied by the eggs corresponds exactly to the labyrinth of that curious family 
of fishes inhabiting the East Indian Ocean, called Labyrinthici by Cuvier. This 
circumstance induces me to believe that the branchial labyrinth of the eastern 
fishes may be a breeding pouch, like that of our Chromides, and not simply a 
respiratory apparatus for retaining water. In the Amazonian fish a very sen- 
sitive network of nerves spreads over this marsupial pouch, the principal stem 
of which arises from a special nervous ganglion, back of the cerebellum, in the 



i 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



223 



Our household is now established on a permanent basis. 
We had at first some difficulty in finding servants ; at this 
fishing season, when the men are going off to dry and salt 
fish, and when the season for hunting turtle-eggs and 
making turtle-butter is coming on, the town is almost 
deserted by the men. It is like haying-time in this coun- 
try, when every arm is needed in the fields. Then the 
habits of the Indians are so irregular, and they care so 
little for money, finding, as they do, the means of living 
almost without work immediately about them, that even 
if one does engage a servant, he is likely to disappear 
the next day. An Indian will do more for good-will and 
a glass of cachaga (rum) than he will do for wages, which 
are valueless to him. The individual, who has been sup- 
plying the place of indoors man while we have been looking 
for a servant, is so original in his appearance that he 
deserves a special description. He belongs to a neighbor 
who has undertaken to provide our meals, and he brings 
them when they are prepared and waits on the table. 
He is rather an elderly Indian, and his dress consists of 
a pair of cotton drawers, originally white, but now of 
many hues and usually rolled up to the knees, his feet 
being bare ; the upper part of his person is partially 

medulla oblongata. This region of the central nervous system is strangely 
developed in different families of fishes, and sends out nerves performing very 
varied functions. From it arise, normally, the nerves of movement and sensa- 
tion about the face ; it also provides the organs of breathing, the upper part 
of the alimentary canal, the throat and the stomach. In the electric fishes the 
great nerves entering the electric battery arise from the same cerebral region, 
and now I have found that the pouch in which the egg of the Acara is in- 
cubated and its young nursed for a time, receives its nerves from the same 
source. This series of facts is truly wonderful, and only shows how far our 
science still is from an apprehension of the functions of the nervous sys- 
tem. — L. A. 



224 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



(very partially) concealed by a blue rag, which I suppose 
in some early period of the world's history must have been 
a shirt ; this extraordinary figure is surmounted by an old 
straw hat full of holes, bent in every direction, and tied 
under the chin by a red string. Had he not been a tem- 
porary substitute, we should have tried to obtain a more 
respectable livery for him ; but to-day he gives place to an 
Indian lad, Bruno by name, who presents a more decent 
appearance, though he seems rather bewildered by his new 
office. At present his idea of waiting on the table seems 
to be to sit on the floor and look at us while we eat. How- 
ever, we hope to break him in gradually. He looks as if 
he had not been long redeemed from the woods, for his 
face is deeply tattooed with black, and his lips and nose 
are pierced with holes, reminding one of the becoming 
vanities he has renounced in favor of civilization.* Be- 
sides Bruno we have a girl, Alexandrina by name, who, 
by her appearance, has a mixture of Indian and black blood 
in her veins. She promises very well, and seems to have 
the intelligence of the Indian with the greater pliability 
of the negro. 

September 29th. — One of the great charms of our resi- 
dence here is, that we have so many pleasant walks within 
easy reach. My favorite walk in the early morning is to 
the wood on the brow of the hill. From the summit, the 
sunrise is lovely over the village below, the lake with its 
many picturesque points and inlets, and the forests on the 
opposite shores. From this spot a little path through the 
bushes brings one at once into a thick, beautiful wood. 

* It is a very general habit among the South American Indians to pierce 
the nose, ears, and lips with holes, in which they hang pieces of wood and 
feathers, as ornaments. 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



225 



Here one may wander at will, for there are a great many 
paths, worn by the Indians, through the trees ; and one 
is constantly tempted on by the cool, pleasant shade, and 
by the perfume of moss and fern and flower. The forest 
here is full of life and sound. The buzz of insects, the 
shrill cry of the cicadas, the chattering talk of the papagaios, 
and occasionally busy voices of the monkeys, make the 
woods eloquent. The monkeys are, however, very difficult 
of approach, and though I hear them often, I have not yet 
seen them on the trees ; but Mr. Hunnewell told me that 
the other day, when shooting in this very wood, he came 
upon a family of small white monkeys sitting on a bough 
together, and talking with much animation. One of the 
prettiest of the paths, with which my daily walks made 
me familiar, leads over an igarape to a house, or rather 
to a large thatched shed, in the forest, used for preparing 
mandioca. It is supplied with four large clay ovens, 
having immense shallow pans fitted on to the top, with 
troughs for kneading, sieves for straining, and all the 
apparatus for the various processes to which the mandioca 
is subjected. One utensil is very characteristic ; the large, 
empty turtle-shells, which may be seen in every kitchen, 
used as basins, bowls, &c. I suppose this little establish- 
ment is used by a number of persons, for in my morning 
walks I always meet troops of Indians going to it, the 
women with their deep working baskets, — something like 
the Swiss " hotte," — in which they carry their tools, on 
their backs, supported by a straw band fastened across 
the forehead, and their babies astride on their hips, so as 
to leave their hands perfectly free. They always give me a 
cordial morning greeting and stop to look at the plants and 
flowers with which I am usually laden. Some of the women 
10* o 



226 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



are quite pretty, but as a general thing the Indians in this 
part of the country do not look very healthy, and are apt to 
have diseases of the eyes and skin. It is a curious thing 
that the natives seem more liable to the maladies of the 
country than strangers. They are very subject to inter- 
mittent fevers, and one often sees Indians worn to mere 
skin and bone by this terrible scourge. 

If the morning walk in the woods is delightful, the even- 
ing stroll on the beach in front of the house is no less so, 
when the water is dyed in the purple sunset, and the quiet 
of the scene is broken here and there by a fire on the sands, 
around which a cluster of Indians are cooking their supper. ■ 
As Major Coutinho and I were walking on the shore last 
evening we came on such a group. They were a family 
who had come over from their home on the other side 
of the lake, with a boat-load of fish and turtle to sell 
in the village. When they have disposed of their cargo, 
they build their fire on the beach, eat their supper of 
salted or broiled fish, farinha, and the nuts of a particu- 
lar kind of palm (Atalea), and then sleep in their canoe. 
We sat down with them, and, that they should not think 
we came merely out of curiosity, we shared their nuts 
and farinha, and they were soon very sociable. I am con- 
stantly astonished at the frank geniality of these people, 
so different from our sombre, sullen Indians, who are so 
unwilling to talk with strangers. The cordiality of their 
reception, however, depends very much on the way in 
which they are accosted. Major Coutinho, who has passed 
years among them, understands their character well, and 
has remarkable tact in his dealings with them. He speaks 
their language a little also, and this is important here 
where many of the Indians speak only the " lingua geral." 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 227 

This was the case with several of the family whose ac- 
quaintance we made last evening, though some of them 
talked in Portuguese fluently enough, telling us about 
their life in the forest, their success in disposing of their 
fish and turtle, and inviting us to come to their house. 
They pointed out to us one of the younger girls, who 
they said had never been baptized, and they seemed to 
wish to have the rite performed. Major Coutinho promised 
to speak to the priest about it for them. So far as we can 
learn, the white population do little to civilize the Indians 
beyond giving them the external rites of religion. It is the 
old sad story of oppression, duplicity, and license on the 
part of the white man, which seems likely to last as long 
as skins shall differ, and which necessarily ends in the 
degradation of both races. 

October 4dh. — On Saturday morning at four o'clock, Ma- 
jor Coutinho, Mr. Agassiz, and myself left Teffe' in company 
with our neighbor and landlord Major Estolano, on our way 
to his "sitio," a rough sort of Indian lodge on the other 
side of the Solimoens, where he goes occasionally with 
his family to superintend the drying and salting of fish, 
a great article of commerce here. It had rained heavily 
all night, but the stars were bright, and the morning was 
cool and fresh when we put off in the canoe. When we 
issued from Teffe' lake it was already broad day, and by 
the time we entered the Solimoens we began to have 
admonitions that breakfast-time was approaching. There 
is something very pleasant in these improvised meals ; the 
coffee tastes better when you have made it yourself, setting 
up the coffee-machine under the straw-roof of the canoe, 
dipping up the water from the river over the side of the 
boat, and cooking your own breakfast. One would think 



228 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



it a great bore at home, with all the necessary means and 
appliances ; but with the stimulus of difficulty and the 
excitement of the journey it is quite pleasant, and gives 
a new relish to ordinary fare. After we had had a 
cup of hot coffee and a farinha biscuit, being somewhat 
cramped with sitting in the canoe, we landed for a walk 
on a broad beach along which we were coasting. There 
is much to be learned on these Amazonian beaches ; they 
are the haunts and breeding-places of many different kinds 
of animals, and are covered by tracks of alligators, tur- 
tles, and capivari. Then there are the nests, not only of 
alligators and turtles, but of the different kind of fishes 
and birds that lay their eggs in the mud or sand. It is 
curious to see the address of the Indians in finding the 
turtle-nests ; they walk quickly over the sand, but with 
a sort of inquiring tread, as if they carried an instinctive 
perception in their step, and the moment they set their 
foot upon a spot below which eggs are deposited, though 
there is no external evidence to the eye, they recognize 
it at once, and, stooping, dig straight down to the eggs, 
generally eight or ten inches under the surface. Besides 
these tracks and nests, there are the rounded, shallow 
depressions in the mud, which the fishermen say are the 
sleeping-places of the skates. They have certainly about 
the form and size of the skate, and one can easily believe 
that these singular impressions in the soft surface have 
been made in this way. The vegetation on these beaches 
is not less interesting than these signs of animal life. In 
the rainy season more than half a mile of land, now un- 
covered along the margins of the river, is entirely under 
water, the river rising not only to the edge of the forest, 
but penetrating far into it. At this time of the year, 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



229 



however, the shore consists, first of the beach, then of a 
broad band of tall grasses, beyond which are the lower 
shrubs and trees, leading up, by a sort of gradation, to 
the full forest growth. During this dry season the vege- 
tation makes an effort to recover its lost ground ; one sees 
the little Imbauba (Cecropia) and a kind of willow-tree 
(Salix humboldiana), the only familiar plant we met, 
springing up on the sand, and creeping down to the 
water's edge, only to be destroyed again with the next 
rise of the river. While we were walking, the boatmen 
were dragging the net, and though not with such astonish- 
ing success as the other day, yet it landed not only an ample 
supply of fresh fish for breakfast, but also a number of in- 
teresting specimens. At about eleven o'clock we turned 
from the Solimoens into the little river on which Mr. Esto- 
lano's fishing-lodge is situated, and in a few minutes found 
ourselves at the pretty landing, where a rough flight of steps 
led up to the house. In this climate a very slight shelter 
will serve as a house. Such a dwelling is indeed nothing 
but a vast porch ; and a very airy, pleasant, and picturesque 
abode it makes. A palm- thatched roof to shed the rain and 
keep off the sun, covering a platform of split logs that one 
may have a dry floor under foot ; these, with plenty of posts 
and rafters for the swinging of hammocks, are the essentials. 
It was somewhat after this fashion that Major Estolano's lodge 
was built. The back part of it consisted of one very large, 
high chamber, to which the family retired in the hottest part 
of the day, when the sun was most scorching ; all the rest 
was roof and platform, the latter stretching out considerably 
beyond the former, thus leaving an open floor on one side 
for the stretching and drying of fish. The whole structure 
was lifted on piles about eight feet above the ground, to 



230 



A JOUENEY IN BRAZIL. 



provide against the rising of the river in the rainy season. 
In front of the house, just on the edge of the bank, were 
several large, open, thatched sheds, used as kitchen and 
living-rooms for the negroes and Indians employed in the 
preparation of the fish. In one of these rooms were several 
Indian women who looked very ill. We were told they had 
been there for two months, and they were worn to skin and 
bone with intermittent fever. Major Coutinho said they 
were, no doubt, suffering in part from the habit so preva- 
lent among these people of eating clay and dirt, for which 
they have a morbid love. They were wild-looking crea- 
tures, lying in their hammocks or squatting on the ground, 
often without any clothes, and moaning as if in pain. They 
were from the forest, and spoke no Portuguese. 

We were received most cordially by the ladies of the 
family, who had gone up to the lodge the day before, and 
were offered the refreshment of a hammock, the first act 
of hospitality in this country, when one arrives from any 
distance. After this followed an excellent breakfast of the 
fresh fish we had brought with us, cooked in a variety of 
ways, broiled, fried, and boiled. The repast was none the 
less appetizing that it was served in picnic fashion, the cloth 
being laid on the floor, upon one of the large palm-mats, 
much in use here to spread over the uncarpeted brick floors 
or under the hammocks. For several hours after breakfast 
the heat was intense, and we could do little but rest in the 
shade, though Mr. Agassiz, who works at all hours if speci- 
mens are on hand, was busy in making skeletons of some 
fish too large to be preserved in alcohol. Towards evening 
it grew cooler, and we walked in the banana plantation near 
the house, and sat under an immense gourd-tree on the 
bank, which made a deep shade ; for it was clothed not only 



LIFE IN TEFFE\ 



231 



by its own foliage, but the branches were covered with para- 
sites, and with soft, dark moss, in contrast with which the 
lighter green, glossy fruit seemed to gain new lustre. I call 
it a gourd-tree, simply from the use to which the fruit is 
put. But it goes here by the name of the Cuieira-tree 
(Crescentia Cajeput), the cup made from the fruit being 
called a Cuia. The fruit is spherical, of a light green, 
shiny surface, and grows from the size of an apple to that 
of the largest melon. It is filled with a soft, white pulp, 
easily removed when the fruit is cut in halves ; the rind is 
then allowed to dry. Very pretty cups and basins, of 
many sizes, are made in this way ; and the Indians, who 
understand how to prepare a variety of very brilliant colors, 
are very skilful in painting them. It would seem that the 
art of making colors is of ancient date among the Ama- 
zonian Indians, for in the account of Francisco Orellana's 
journey down the Amazons in 1541, " the two fathers of the 
expedition declare that in this voyage they found all the 
people to be both intelligent and ingenious, which was shown 
by the works which they performed in sculpture and painting 
in bright colors." * Their paints are prepared from a par- 
ticular kind of clay and from the juices of several plants 
which have coloring properties. In an Amazonian cottage 
one hardly sees any utensils for the table except such as the 
Indians have prepared and ornamented themselves from the 
fruits of the Cuieira-tree. I longed to extend my walk into 
the woods which surrounded us on all sides ; but the forest 
is very tantalizing here, so tempting and so impenetrable. 
The ladies told me there were no paths cut in the neigh- 
borhood of the house. 

* See "Expeditions into the Valley of the Amazons/' published by the 
fiakluyt Society. 



232 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



The next morning we were off early in the canoes on 
a fish hunt ; I call it a hunt advisedly, for the fish are the 
captives of the bow and spear, not of the net and line. 
The Indians are very adroit in shooting the larger fish 
with the bow and arrow, and in harpooning some of the 
veritable monsters of their rivers, such as the Peixe-boi 
("fish-cow"), Manatee or Dugon, with the spear. We 
made two parties this morning, some of us going in the 
larger canoe to drag a forest lake with the net, while some 
of the fishermen took a smaller, lighter boat, to be able to 
approach their larger prey. Our path lay through a pretty 
igarape, where, for the first time, I saw monkeys in a tree 
by the water-side. On coming to the Amazons we expect 
to see monkeys as frequently as squirrels are seen at home ; 
but, though very numerous, they are so shy that one rarely 
gets a fair view of them. After an hour's row we landed 
at a little point jutting out into the water, and went through 
the forest, the men cutting the way before us, clearing the 
path of branches, fallen trees, and parasitic vines which 
obstructed it. I was astonished to see the vigor and 
strength with which Dona Maria, the mother-in-law of our 
host, made her way through the tangled trees, helping 
to free the road, and lopping off branches with her great 
wood-knife. We imagine all the ladies in this warm 
country to be very indolent and languid ; and in the cities, 
as a general thing, their habits are much less vigorous than 
those of our women. But here, in the Upper Amazons, the 
women who have been brought up in the country and in 
the midst of the Indians are often very energetic, bearing a 
hand at the oar or the fishing-net with the strength of a 
man. A short walk brought us out upon a shallow forest 
lake, or, as the Indians call it, " round water." The Indian 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



233 



names are often very significant. I have mentioned the 
meaning of igarape, " boat path " ; to this, when they wish 
to indicate its size more exactly, they affix either the word 
"assu" (large) or "mirim" (small). But an igarape, 
whether large or small, is always a channel opening out of 
the main river and having no other outlet. For a channel 
connecting the upper and lower waters of the same river, or 
leading from one river to another, they have another word, 
"Parana" (signifying river), which they modify in the same 
way, as Parana-assu or Parana-mirim. Parand-assu, the big 
river, means also the sea. A still more significant name 
for a channel connecting two rivers is the Portuguese word 
" furo," meaning bore. 

The lake was set in the midst of long, reed-like grass, 
and, as we approached it, thousands of white water-birds 
rustled up from the margin and floated like a cloud above 
us. The reason of their numbers was plain when we 
reached the lake : it was actually lined with shrimps ; one 
could dip them out by the bucketful. The boatmen now 
began to drag the net, and perhaps nowhere, from any 
single lake or pond, has Mr. Agassiz made a more valu- 
able collection of forest fishes. Among them was a pipe- 
fish, one of the Goniodont family, very similar to our ordina- 
ry Syngnathus in appearance, but closely related to Acestra, 
and especially interesting to him as throwing light on cer- 
tain investigations of his, made when quite a young man. 
This specimen confirmed a classification by which he then 
associated the pipe-fish with the Garpikes and Sturgeons, 
a combination which was scouted by the best naturalists 
of the time, and is even now repudiated by most of them. 
Without self-glorification, it is impossible not to be grati- 
fied when the experience of later years confirms the pre- 



234 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



monitions of youth, and shows them to have been not mere 
guesses, but founded upon an insight into the true relations 
of things. Wearied after a while with watching the fish- 
ing in the sun, I went back into the forest,, where I found 
the coffee-pot already boiling over the fire. It was pleas- 
ant to sit down on a fallen, moss-grown trunk, and break- 
fast in the shade. Presently the fishermen came back from 
the lake, and we found our way to the boats again, laden 
with an immense number of fishes. The gentlemen re- 
turned to the house in one of the smaller montarias, taking 
the specimens with them, and leaving me to return in the 
larger canoe with the Senhoras. It seemed to me strange 
on this Sunday morning, when the bells must be ringing 
and the people trooping to church under the bright October 
sky, in our far-off New England home, to be floating down 
this quiet igarape, in a boat full of half-naked Indians, their 
wild, monotonous chant sounding in our ears as they kept 
time to their oars. In these excursions one learns to un- 
derstand the fascination this life must have for a people 
among whom civilization is as yet but very incomplete ; 
it is full of physical enjoyment, without any mental ef- 
fort. Up early in the morning and off on their fishing 
or hunting excursions long before dawn, they return by 
the middle of the day, lie in their hammocks and smoke 
during the hours of greatest heat ; cook the fish they 
have brought with them, and, unless sickness comes to 
them, know neither want nor care. We reached the house 
in time for a twelve o'clock breakfast of a more solid char- 
acter than the lighter one in the forest, and by no means 
unacceptable after our long row. In the course of the day 
two " Peixe-bois " (Manatees) were brought in, also a Boto 
(porpoise), and some large specimens of Pirarucu (Sudis). 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



235 



All these are too clumsy to preserve in alcohol, especially 
when alcohol is so difficult to obtain and so expensive 
as it is here ; but Mr. Agassiz has had skeletons made 
of them, and will preserve the skins of the Peixe-bois 
for mounting. He obtained at the same time an entirely 
new genus of the Siluroid family. It is a fish weighing 
some ten pounds, called here the Pacamum, and of a bright 
canary color. 

The evening scene at the " Sitio " was always very pretty. 
After dinner, when the customary " boa noite," the univer- 
sal greeting at the close of the day, had been exchanged, 
the palm-mats, spread over the platforms, had each their 
separate group, Indians or negroes, children, members of 
the family or guests, the central figure being usually that 
of Major Coutinho, who was considered to be especially 
successful in the making of coffee and who generally had 
a mat to himself, where he looked, as the blue flame of 
his alcohol lamp flickered in the wind, not unlike a ma- 
gician of old, brewing some potent spell. Little shallow 
cups, like open antique lamps, filled with oil and having 
a bit of wick hanging over the edge, were placed about 
the floors, and served to light the interior of the porch, 
though after a glimmering and uncertain fashion. On 
Monday morning we left the "Sitio" and returned to 
Teffe, where Mr. Agassiz had the pleasure of receiving 
all his collections, both those he had sent on before him 
and those which accompanied us, in good condition. 

October 9th. — Alexandrina turns out to be a valuable 
addition to the household, not only from a domestic, but 
also from a scientific point of view. She has learned to 
prepare and clean skeletons of fish very nicely, and makes 
herself quite useful in the laboratory. Besides, she knows 



236 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



many paths in the forest, and accompanies me in all my 
botanizing excursions ; with the keen perceptions of a 
person whose only training has been through the senses, 
she is far quicker than I am in discerning the smallest 
plant in fruit or flower, and now that she knows what I 
am seeking, she is a very efficient aid. Nimble as a monkey, 
she thinks nothing of climbing to the top of a tree to bring 
down a blossoming branch ; and here, where many of the 
trees shoot up to quite a height before putting out their 
boughs, such an auxiliary is very important. The collec- 
tions go on apace, and every day brings in new species ; 
more than can be easily cared for, — far more than our artist 
can find time to draw. Yesterday, among other specimens, 
a hollow log was brought in, some two feet and a half in 
length, and about three inches in diameter, crowded with 
Anojas (a common fish here) of all sizes, from those 
several inches long to the tiniest young. The thing was 
so extraordinary that one would have been inclined to 
think it was prepared in order to be passed off as a curi- 
osity, had not the fish been so dexterously packed into 
the log from end to end, that it was impossible to get them 
out without splitting it open, when they were all found 
alive and in perfectly good condition. They could not 
have been artificially jammed into the hollow wood, in 
that way, without injuring them. The fishermen say that 
this is the habit of the family ; they are often found thus 
crowded into dead logs at the bottom of the river, making 
their nests as it were in the cavities of the wood.* 

October Ikth. — Mr. Agassiz has a corps of little boys 

* This species belongs to one of the subdivisions of the genus Auchenipte- 
rus ; it is undescribed, and Mr. Burkhardt has made five colored sketches of a 
number of specimens of different sizes, varying in their markings. — L. A. 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



237 



engaged in catching the tiniest fishes, so insignificant in 
size that the regular fishermen, who can never be made 
to understand that a fish which is not good to eat can 
serve any useful purpose, always throw them away. Nev- 
ertheless, these are among the most instructive specimens 
for the ichthyologist, because they often reveal the relations 
not only between parent and offspring, but wider relations 
between different groups. Mr. Agassiz's investigations on 
these little fish here have shown repeatedly that the young 
of some species resemble closely the adult of others. Such 
a fish, not more than half an inch long, was brought to him 
yesterday. It constitutes a new genus, Lymnobelus, and 
belongs to the bill-fish family, Scomberesoces, with Belone 
and others, — that long, narrow type, with a long beak, 
which has such a wide distribution over the world. In the 
Northern United States, as well as in the Mediterranean, it 
has a representative of the genus Scomberesox, in which the 
jaws of its long snout are gaping ; in the Mediterranean, 
and almost everywhere in the temperate and torrid zones, 
Belones are found in which, on the contrary, the bill is 
closed ; in Florida and on the Brazilian coast, as well as in 
the Pacific, species of Hemirhamphus occur in which the two 
jaws are unequal, the upper one being very short and the 
lower one enormously long, while the Amazonian bill-fish 
has a somewhat different cut of the bill from either of 
those mentioned above, though both jaws are very long, 
as in Belone. When, then, the young of this Amazonian 
species was brought to Mr. Agassiz, he naturally expected 
to find it like its parent. On the contrary, he found it far 
more like the species of Florida and the Brazilian coast, 
having the two jaws unequal, the upper one excessively 
short, the lower enormously long, showing that the Ama- 



238 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 

zonian species, before taking on its own characteristic 
features, passes through a stage resembling the perma- 
nent adult condition of the Hemirhamphus. It is interest- 
ing to find that animals, which have their natural homes so 
far from each other that there is no possibility of any ma- 
terial connection between them, are yet so linked together by 
structural laws, that the development of one species should 
recall the adult form of another.* The story of the Acaras, 

* When I attempted to record my impression of the hasin of the Amazons, 
and characterized it as a fresh-\yater ocean with an archipelago of islands, I 
did not mean to limit the comparison to the wide expanse of water and the 
large number of islands. The resemblance extends much further, and the 
whole basin may be said to be oceanic also, in the character of its fauna. It is 
true, we are accustomed to consider the Chromides, the Characines, the Silu- 
roids, and the Goniodonts, which constitute the chief population of this net- 
work of rivers, as fresh-water fishes ; but in so doing we shut our eyes to their 
natural affinities, and remember only the medium in which they live. Let any 
one enter upon a move searching comparison, and he will not fail to perceive 
that, under the name of Chromides, fishes are united which in their form and 
general appearance recall several families of the class, only known as inhab- 
itants of the sea. The genus Pterophyllum, for instance, might be placed side 
by side with the Chaetodonts, without apparently violating its natural affini- 
ties, since even Cuvier considered it as a Platax. The genera Symphysodon 
and Uaru would not seem very much out of place, by the side of Brama. The 
genus Geophagus and allied forms recall at once the Sparoids, with which 
some of them were associated by earlier ichthyologists ; while the genus 
Crenicichla forms a striking counterpart to the genus Malacanthus. Finally, 
the genus Acara and their kindred closely resemble the Pomacentroids. In- 
deed, had not the fresh-water genera Pomotis, Centrarchus, and the like, been 
erroneously associated with the Percoids, the intimate relations which bind 
them to the Chromides, and these again to the marine types mentioned above, 
would long ago have been acknowledged. The genus Monocirrus is a minia- 
ture Toxotes, with a barbel. Polycentrus, which is also found in the Ama- 
zons, stands nearest to Acara and Heros ; it has only a larger number Of 
anal spines. In this connection it ought not to be overlooked that these 
fishes are not pelagic, like the Scomberoids, but rather archipelagic, if I 
may use this word to designate fishes dwelling among low islands. If 
we discard the long-prevailing idea of a close relationship between the 



1 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 239 

the fish which carries its young in its mouth, grows daily 
more wonderful. This morning Mr. Agassiz was off before 

Characines and Salmonides, based solely upon the presence of an adipose 
fin, we may at once perceive how manifold are the affinities between the 
Characines on one hand, and on the other the Scopelines and Clupeoids, 
all of which are essentially marine. These relations may be traced to the 
details of the genera ; Gasteropelecus, from the family of Characines, is the 
pendant of Pristigaster among the Clupeoids, as Chalcinus recalls Pellona. 
In the same way may Stomias and Chauliodus be compared to Cynodon and 
the like ; or Sudis and Osteoglossum to Megalops, and Erythrinus to Ophiceph- 
alus, &c, &c. The Goniodonts may at first sight hardly seem to have any 
kindred among marine fishes ; but if we take into account the affinity which 
unquestionably links the genus Loricaria and its allies with Pegasus, and 
further remember that to this day all the ichthyologists, with the sole excep- 
tion of C. Dumeril, have united Pegasus in one order with the Pipe-fishes, it 
will no longer be doubted that the Goniodonts have at least a remarkable anal- 
ogy with the Lophobranches, if they should not be considered as bearing a close 
structural relation to them. But this relation truly exists. The extraordinary 
mode of rearing their young, which characterizes the various representatives of 
the old genus Syngnathus, is only matched by the equally curious incubation 
of the eggs in Loricaria. And as to the other families represented in the basin 
of the Amazons, such as the Skates, the Sharks, the Tetraodonts, the Plat- 
fishes (Pleuronectides), the Bill-fishes (Scombei-esoces), the Anchovis, Her- 
rings, and other forms of the family of Clupeoids, the Muramoids, the genu- 
ine Sciamoids, the Gobioids, &c, &c, they are chiefly known as marine types; 
while the Cyprinodonts occur elsewhere both in salt and fresh water. The 
Gymnotines are thus far only known as fresh-water fishes, nor do I see any 
ground for comparing them to any marine type. They cannot be compared 
to the Mursenoids, with which they have thus far been associated. The only 
real affinity I can trace in them is with the Mormyri of the Nile and Senegal, 
and with the Notopteri of the Sunda Islands. Eel-shaped fishes are by no 
means all related to one another, and their elongated form, with a variety of 
patterns, is no indication of their relationship. It may, nevertheless, be in- 
ferred from what precedes, that the fishes of the Amazons have, as a whole, a 
marine character peculiarly their own, and not at all to be met with among 
the inhabitants of the other great rivers of the world. 

These peculiarities extend to other classes besides fishes. Among the Bivalve 
shells, it has long been known that the Amazons nourishes genera of Naiades 
peculiar to its waters, or only found besides in the Other great rivers of South 



240 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



dawn, on a fishing excursion with Major Estolano, and 
returned with numerous specimens of a new species of 

America; such as Hyria, Castalia, and Mycetopus, to which I would add 
another genus, founded upon slender, sickle-shaped Unios, common to North 
and South America. But what seems to have escaped the attention of con- 
chologists is the striking resemblance of Hyria and Avicula, of Castalia and 
Area, of Mycetopus and Solen, &c. Thus exhibiting another repetition of 
marine types in a family exclusively limited to fresh waters, and having struc- 
tural characters of its own, entirely distinct from the marine genera, the 
appearance of which they so closely ape. In this connection I cannot suppress 
the remark, that it would be puerile to consider such mimicry as indicative of 
a community of origin. Some of the land shells even recall marine forms ; 
such are some of the Bulimus tribe, which resemble the genus Phasianella and 
Littorina far more than their own relatives. The similarity of the fringes of 
the anterior margin of the foot is particularly striking. The Ampullarise 
remind one also, in a measure, of the marine genera Struthiolaria, Natica, 
&c, and many fossils of the latter family have been confounded with fresh-water 
Ampulariee. 

The most noticeable feature of the Amazonian fauna, considered with refer- 
ence to its oceanic character, is, however, the abundance of Cetaceans through 
* its whole extent. Wherever I have navigated these waters, from Para, where 
the tides still send the salt brine up the river, to Tabatinga on the borders 
of Peru, in all the larger and smaller tributaries of the great stream as well 
as in the many lakes connected with their ever-changing course, I have seen 
and heard them, gamboling at the surface and snoring rhythmically, when 
undisturbed in their breathing. At night, especially, when quietly at anchor 
in the river, you hardly ever fail to be startled by the noise they make, when 
reaching the surface to exhale forcibly the air they have long retained in their 
lungs while under water. I have noticed five different species of this order 
of animals in the waters of the Amazons, four of which belong to the family 
of Porpoises and one to that of Manatees. Mr. Burkhardt has drawn three 
of them from fresh specimens for me, and I hope before long to secure equally 
faithful representations of the others, when I shall describe them all com- 
paratively. One of the Porpoises belongs to the genus Inia, and may be 
traced on the upper tributaries of the Amazons to Bolivia, another resem- 
bles more our common Porpoise, while still another recalls the Dolphin of 
the sea-coast ; but I have been unable to ascertain whether any one of them 
is identical with the marine species. At all events, the black Porpoise of the 
bay of Marajo, frequently seen in the vicinity of Para, is totally different from 
the gray species seen higher up the stream. — L. A. 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



241 



that family. These specimens furnished a complete embry- 
ological series, some of them having their eggs at the back 
of the gills, between the upper pharyngeals and the bran- 
chial arches, others their young in the mouth in different 
stages of development, up to those a quarter of an inch 
long and able to swim about, full of life and activity, 
when removed from the gills and placed in water. The 
most advanced were always found outside of the gills, 
within the cavity formed by the gill-covers and the wide 
branchiostegal membrane. In examining these fishes Mr. 
Agassiz has found that a special lobe of the brain, similar 
to those of the Triglas, sends large nerves to that part 
of the gills which protects the young ; thus connecting 
the care of the offspring with the organ of intelligence. 
The specimens of this morning seem to invalidate the 
statement of the fishermen, that the young, though often 
found in the mouth of the parent, are not actually de- 
veloped there, but laid and hatched in the sand. The 
series, in these specimens, was too complete to leave any 
doubt that in this species at least the whole process of 
development is begun and completed in the gill-cavity. 

October 11th. — Teffe\ Yesterday, to our great pleasure, 
our companions, Mr. James and Mr. Talisman, returned 
from their canoe expedition on the rivers lea and 
Hyutahy, bringing most valuable collections. Mr. Agassiz 
has felt some anxiety about their success, as, in con- 
sequence of their small supply of alcohol, for preserving 
specimens, which was, nevertheless, all he could spare 
from the common store, a great deal of judgment in the 
choice of specimens was required in order to make a truly 
characteristic collection. The commission could not have 
been better executed, and the result raises the number 
11 p 



242 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



of species from the Amazonian waters to more than six 
hundred, every day showing more clearly how distinctly 
the species are localized, and that this immense basin is 
divided into numerous zoological areas, each one of which 
has its own combination of fishes. Our stay at Teffe draws 
to a close, and to-day begins the great work of packing, in 
preparation for the arrival of the steamer at the end of the 
week. These days are the most laborious of all ; on leav- 
ing every station, all the alcoholic specimens have to be 
overhauled, their condition ascertained, the barrels, kegs, 
and cans examined, to make sure that the hoops are fast, 
and that there are no leakages. Fortunately, there are 
some of our party who are very dexterous as coopers and 
joiners, and at these times the laboratory is turned into 
a workshop. We were reminded of the labors of the day 
by a circular distributed at breakfast this morning : — 

" Sir : — The ' United Coopers' Association ' will meet in the lab- 
oratory after breakfast. You are particularly requested to attend. 
"Teffe, Oct. 17th, 1865." 

And at this moment the laboratory rings with click of ham- 
mer, and nails, and iron hoops. As usual, there are a 
number of uninvited spectators watching the breaking up 
of the scientific establishment, which has been, during the 
past month, a source of constant entertainment to the va- 
grant population of Teffe. In this country of open doors 
and windows one has not the same protection against intru- 
sion as in a colder climate, and we have had a constant 
succession of curious visitors hanging about our premises. 

I have dwelt especially on the fish collection ; but we do 
not go away empty-handed in other respects. Mr. Dexter 
has prepared a large number of the forest birds for mounting, 
— papagaios, toucans, and a great variety of smaller species 



LIFE IN teffe\ 243 

of very brilliant plumage, not to speak of the less showy 
water-birds. He has been often in the woods shooting, 
with Mr. Hunnewell and Mr. Thayer, and has employed 
several sportsmen of the place to assist him. Turtles, 
jacare's, and snakes are also largely represented in the 
collections ; and Mr. Agassiz has obtained, by purchase, 
a large and well-preserved collection of insects, made by 
a Frenchman during a several years' residence in this 
little town. In TefFe* and its neighborhood we constantly 
tread in the footsteps of the English naturalist, Mr. Bates, 
" Senhor Henrique," as the people call him here, whose 
charming book, " The Naturalist on the Amazons," has 
been a very pleasant companion to us in our wanderings.* 

* As from the beginning our arrangements were made to stay at least a 
month in Teffe, it became possible to lay out our work in a more systematic 
form than during our rambling travels. It was here that I secured the largest 
number of fish skeletons and had several of the larger animals of the country 
prepared for the Museum ; such as Manatees, Porpoises, Pirarucus, Sorubims, 
and the like. I also undertook here, for the first time, a regular search for the 
young of all the species of fishes that could be obtained. Here again my 
neighbors, and indeed all the inhabitants of the place, vied with one another 
in their efforts to procure specimens for me. Senhor Joao da Cunha and 
Dr. Bomualdo made frequent fishing excursions for my benefit ; and when I 
could not accompany them, a boatful of fish was nevertheless moored to the 
shore, in the evening, from which I could select whatever was useful or interest- 
ing. The grocer of the place, Mr. Pedro Mendez, who employed a skilful fish- 
erman daily to supply his large family, gave directions that all the fishes caught 
should be brought in, and before the kitchen received its provisions, I had my 
choice of everything. This was a great favor, especially since the Indian fish- 
erman, Jose, whom I had engaged in Manaos to accompany me through the 
rest of my journey, was now at Tabatinga, assisting Mr. Bourget, who had 
been left there when I returned to Teffe. An old Passe Indian, who was as 
familiar with the fishes of the waters as with the animals of the forest, and 
whom Major Coutinho had befriended for many years, rendered also great 
service in hunting particular kinds of fishes and reptiles, the haunts of which he 
alone seemed to know. The schoolmaster and his boys, in short, everybody 



244 



A JOUENEY IN BEAZIL. 



October 21st. — Since Thursday afternoon our canoe has 
been loaded, all the specimens, amounting to something 
more than thirty barrels, kegs, and boxes, packed and 
waiting the arrival of the steamer. We have paid our 
parting visits to friends and acquaintances here. I have 
taken my last ramble in the woods where I have had so 

who knew how to catch fish or fowl, was out at work, and, with the assistance 
of my young friends Dexter, Hunnewell, and Thayer, and the co-operation 
of Major Coutinho and Mr. Burkhardt, our daily progress was unmistakahle. 
They generally took care of the collections of land animals, while I reserved the 
fishes to myself, and Major Coutinho was husy with geological and meteorologi- 
cal observations. Even the servants helped in cleaning the skeletons. I made 
here a very extensive collection of fish brains, embracing most genera found 
in this locality, hut it was unfortunately lost on arriving at Manaos. Aware 
of the difficulty of transporting preparations so delicate, I kept them always 
by my side, simply packed in an open barrel, in the hope of bringing them 
safely home, and also that I might, without difficulty, add to the number. In 
an unguarded moment, however, while landing, one of our attendants cap- 
sized the whole into the Rio Negro. It is the only part of my collections 
which was completely lost. 

After setting my whole party well under way in Teffe, I made the very 
instructive excursion with Major Estolano, of which an account is given in 
the text, to the Lago do Boto, a small sheet of water, by the side of his sitio 
on the banks of the main course of the Amazons, where I had a fair opportu- 
nity of ascertaining how widely different the fishes may be that inhabit 
adjoining faunae in the same hydrographic basin. To this day I have not 
yet recovered from my surprise at fiuding that shores which, from a geographic 
point of view, must be considered simply as opposite banks of the same stream, 
were, nevertheless, the abode of an essentially different ichthyological popula- 
tion. Among the most curious fishes obtained here, I would mention a new 
genus, allied to Phractocephalus, of which I know only a single very large 
species, remarkable for its uniform canary-yellow color. Doras, Acestra, 
Pterygoplichthys, &c, were particularly common. Small as this lake is, the 
largest animals known in the whole basin are found in it : such as Manatees 
Botos, — the Porpoise of the Amazons, which has given its name to the lake , 
Alligators, Pirarucus, — the Sudis gigas of systematic writers; Sorubims, the 
large flat-headed Hornpouts ; Pacamums, the large, yellow Siluroid above al- 
luded to, &c, &c. — L. A. 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



245 



many pleasant walks, and now we are sitting in the midst 
of valises and carpet-bags, waiting to see the steamer round 
the wooded point in front of the house, before we turn the 
key on our four weeks' home, and close this chapter of our 
Amazonian life. In this country, where time seems to be 




Head of Alexandrina. 



of comparatively little importance, one is never sure wheth- 
er the boat will leave or arrive on the appointed day. One 
has only to make the necessary preparations, and then 
practise the favorite Brazilian virtue, " paciencia." The 



246 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



adjoining sketch is a portrait of my little house-maid, 
Alexandrina, who, from her mixture of Negro and Indian 
blood, is rather a curious illustration of the amalgamation 
of races here. She consented yesterday, after a good deal 
of coy demur, to have her portrait taken. Mr. Agassiz 
wanted it especially on account of her extraordinary hair, 
which, though it has lost its compact negro crinkle, and 
acquired something of the length and texture of the Indian 
hair, retains, nevertheless, a sort of wiry elasticity, so that, 
when combed out, it stands off from her head in all direc- 
tions as if electrified. In the examples of negro and Indian 
half-breeds we have seen, the negro type seems the first to 
yield, as if the more facile disposition of the negro, as 
compared with the enduring tenacity of the Indian, showed* 
itself in their physical as well as their mental characteristics. 
A few remarks, gathered from Mr. Agassiz' s notes on the 
general character of the population in this region may not 
be without interest. 

" Two things are strongly impressed on the mind of the 
traveller in the Upper Amazons. The necessity, in the first 
place, of a larger population, and, secondly, of a better class 
of whites, before any fair beginning can be made in develop- 
ing the resources of the country ; and, as an inducement to 
this, the importance of taking off all restraint on the navi- 
gation of the Amazons and its tributaries, opening them to 
the ambition and competition of other nations. Not only 
is the white population too small for the task before it, 
but it is no less poor in quality than meagre in numbers. 
It presents the singular spectacle of a higher race receiving 
the impress of a lower one, of an educated class adopting 
the habits and sinking to the level of the savage. In the 
towns of the Solimoens the people who pass for the white 



i 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



247 



gentry of the land, while they profit by the ignorance of 
the Indian to cheat and abuse him, nevertheless adopt his 
social habits, sit on the ground and eat with their fingers 
as he does. Although it is forbidden by law to enslave the 
Indian, there is a practical slavery by which he becomes 
* as absolutely in the power of the master as if he could 
be bought and sold. The white man engages an Indian 
to work for him at a certain rate, at the same time prom- 
ising to provide him with clothes and food until such time 
as he shall have earned enough to take care of himself. 
This outfit, in fact, costs the employer little ; but when 
the Indian comes to receive his wages he is told that he 
is already in debt to his master for what has been ad- 
vanced to him ; instead of having a right to demand 
money, he owes work. The Indians, even those who live 
about the towns, are singularly ignorant of the true value 
of things. They allow themselves to be deceived in this 
way to an extraordinary extent, and remain bound to the 
service of a man for a lifetime, believing themselves under 
the burden of a debt, while they are, in fact, creditors. 
Besides this virtual slavery, an actual traffic of the Indians 
does go on : but it is so far removed from the power of the 
authorities that they cannot, if they would, put a stop to it. 
A better class of emigrants would suppress many of these 
evils. Americans or Englishmen might be sordid in their 
transactions with the natives ; their hands are certainly not 
clean in their dealings with the dark-skinned races ; but 
they would not degrade themselves to the social level of 
the Indians as the Portuguese do ; they would not adopt 
his habits.'' 

I cannot say good by to TefK without a word in com- 
memoration of one class of its inhabitants who have 



248 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



interfered very seriously with our comfort. There is a 
tiny creature called the Mocuim, scarcely visible except 
for its bright vermilion color, which swarms all over the 
grass and low growth here. It penetrates under the skin 
so that one would suppose a red rash had broken out over 
the body, and causes excessive itching, ending sometimes 
in troublesome sores. On returning from a walk it is 
necessary to bathe in alcohol and water, in order to allay 
the heat and irritation produced by these little wretches. 
Mosquitoes are annoying, piums are vexatious, but for 
concentrated misery commend me to the Mocuim. 

October 23c?. — We left Teffe on Saturday evening on 
board the Icamiaba, which now seems quite like a home 
to us ; we have passed so many pleasant hours in her 
comfortable quarters since we left Para. We are just 
on the verge of the rainy season here, and almost every 
evening during the past week has brought a thunder-storm. 
The evening before leaving Teffe we had one of the most 
beautiful storms we have seen on the Amazons. It came 
sweeping up from the east ; these squalls always come 
from the east, and therefore the Indians say " the path of 
the sun is the path of the storm." The upper, lighter 
layer of cloud, travelling faster than the dark, lurid mass 
below, hung over it with its white, fleecy edge, like an 
avalanche of snow just about to fall. We were all sitting 
at the doorstep watching its swift approach, and Mr. Agassiz 
said that this tropical storm was the most accurate represen- 
tation of an avalanche on the upper Alps he had ever seen. 
It seems sometimes as if Nature played upon herself, repro- 
ducing the same appearances under the most dissimilar 
circumstances. It is curious to mark the change in the 
river. When we reached Teffe it was rapidly falling at 



LIFE IN TEFFE. 



249 



tlib /ate of about a foot a day. It was easy to measure its 
retreat by the effect of the occasional rains on the beach. 
The shower of one day, for instance, would gully the sand 
to the water's edge, and the next day we would find the water 
about a foot below the terminus of all the cracks and ruts 
thus caused, their abrupt close showing the line at which 
they met the water the previous day. Ten days or a fort- 
night before we left, and during which we had heavy 
rains at the close of every day, continuing frequently 
through the night, those oscillations in the river began, 
which the people here call " repiquete," and which, on 
the Upper Amazons, precede the regular rise of the water 
during the winter. The first repiquete occurs in Teffi} 
toward the end of October, accompanied by almost daily 
rains. After a week or so the water falls again ; in ten 
or twelve days it begins once more to ascend, and sinks 
again after the same period. In some seasons there is a 
third rise and fall, but usually the third repiquete begins 
the permanent annual rise of the river. On board the 
steamer we were joined by Mr. Bourget, with his fine 
collections from Tabatinga. He, like both the other par- 
ties, has been hindered, by want of alcohol, from making 
as large collections as he might otherwise have done ; but 
they are, nevertheless, very valuable, exceedingly well put 
up, and embracing a great variety of species, from the 
Maranon as well as from the Hyavary. Thus we have a 
rich harvest from all the principal tributaries of the Upper 
Amazons, within the borders of Brazil, above the Rio Negro, 
except the Purus, which must be left unexplored for want 
of time and a sufficient working force. 

On leaving Teffe I should say something of the nature 
of the soil in connection with Mr. Agassiz's previous 
11 * 



250 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



observations on this subject. Although he has been al- 
most constantly occupied with his collections, he has, 
nevertheless, found time to examine the geological for- 
mations of the neighborhood. The more he considers the 
Amazons and its tributaries, the more does he feel con- 
vinced that the whole mass of the reddish, homogene- 
ous clay, which he has called drift, is the glacial de- 
posit brought down from the Andes and worked over by 
the melting of the ice which transported it. According 
to his view, the whole valley was originally filled with 
this deposit, and the Amazons itself, as well as the rivers 
connected with it, are so many channels worn through the 
mass, having cut their way just as the igarape* now wears 
its way through the more modern deposits of mud and sand. 
It may seem strange that any one should compare the for- 
mation of these insignificant forest-streams with that of 
the vast river which pours itself across a whole continent ; 
but it is, after all, only a reversal of the microscopic process 
of investigation. We magnify the microscopically small in 
order to see it, and we must diminish that which transcends 
our apprehension by its great size, in order to understand 
it. The naturalist who wishes to compare an elephant with 
a Coni (Hyrax) * turns the diminishing end of his glass 
upon the former, and, reducing its clumsy proportions, he 
finds that the difference is one of size rather than struc- 
ture. The essential features are the same. So the little 
igarape, as it wears its channel through the forest to-day, 
explains the early history of the great river and feebly 
reiterates the past. 

* It was Cuvier who first ascertained that the small Hyrax belongs to the 
same order as the elephant. 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



251 



CHAPTER VIII. 

RETURN TO MANAOS. — AMAZONIAN PICNIC. 

Arrival, at Manaos. — New Quarters. — The ''Ibicuhy." — News from 
Home. — Visit to the Cascade. — Banheiras in the Forest. — Excur- 
sion to Lake Hyanuary. — Character and Prospects of the Amazonian 
Valley. — Reception at the Lake. — Description of Sitio. — Successful 
Fishing. — Indian Visitors. - Indian Ball. — Character of the Dan- 
cing. — Disturbed Night. — Canoe Excursion. — Scenery. — Another 
Sitio. — Morals and Manners. — Talk with the Indian Women. — Life 
in the Forest. — Life in the Towns. — Dinner-Party. — Toasts. — 
Evening Row on the Lake. — Night Scene. — Smoking among the 
Senhoras. — Return to Manaos. 

October 24th. — Manaos. We reached Manaos yesterday. 
As we landed in the afternoon, and as our arrival had* not 
been expected with any certainty, we had to wait a little 
while for lodgings ; but before night we were fairly estab- 
lished, our corps of assistants and all our scientific appa- 
ratus, in a small house near the shore, Mr. Agassiz and 
myself in an old, rambling edifice, used when we were 
here before for the public treasury, which is now removed 
to another building. Our abode has still rather the air of 
a public establishment, but it is very quaint and pleasant 
inside, and, from its open, spacious character, is especially 
agreeable in this climate. The apartment in which we 
have taken up our quarters, making it serve both as 
drawing-room and chamber, is a long, lofty hall, opening 
by a number of doors and windows on a large, green 
enclosure, called by courtesy a garden, but which is, after 
all, only a ragged space overgrown with grass, and having 
a few trees in it. Nevertheless, it makes a pleasant back- 
ground of shade and verdure. At the upper end of our 



252 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



airy room hang our hammocks, and here are disposed our 
trunks, boxes, &c. ; in the other half are a couple of writing- 
tables, a Yankee rocking-chair that looks as if it might have 
come out of a Maine farmer's house, a lounging-chair, and 
one or two other pieces of furniture, which give it a do- 
mestic look and make it serve very well as a parlor. There 
are many other apartments in this rambling, rickety castle 
of ours, with its brick floors and its rat-holes, its lofty, bare 
walls, and rough rafters overhead ; but this is the only one 
we have undertaken to make habitable, and to my eye it 
presents a very happy combination of the cosey and the 
picturesque. We have been already urged by some of 
our hospitable friends here to take other lodgings ; but we 
are much pleased with our quarters, and prefer to retain 
them, at least for the present. 

On our arrival we were greeted by the tidings that the 
first steamer of the line recently opened between New 
York and Brazil had touched at Para on her way to 
Rio. According to all accounts, this has been made the 
occasion of great rejoicing ; and, indeed, there appears to 
be a strong desire throughout Brazil to strengthen in 
every way her relations with the United States. The 
opening of this line seems to bring us nearer home, and 
its announcement, in connection with excellent news, pub- 
lic and private, from the United States, made the day of 
our return to Manaos a very happy one. A few hours 
after our own arrival the steamer " Ibicuhy," provided by 
the government for our use, came into port. To our great 
pleasure, she brings Mr. Tavares Bastos, deputy from Ala- 
goas, whose uniform kindness to us personally ever since 
our arrival in Brazil, as well as his interest in the success 
of the expedition, make it a great pleasure to meet him 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



253 



again. This morning Mr. Agassiz received the official 
document placing the steamer at his disposition, and also 
a visit from her commander, Captain Faria. 

October 26th. — Yesterday morning at six o'clock we 
made our first excursion to a pretty spot much talked 
of in Manaos on account of its attractions for bathing, 
picnics, and country enjoyments of all sorts. It is called 
the u little cascade," to distinguish it from a larger and, 
it is said, a much more picturesque fall, half a league from 
the city on the other side. Half an hour's row through a 
winding river brings you to a rocky causeway, over which 
the water comes brawling down in a shallow rapid. Here 
you land, and a path through the trees leads along the 
edge of the igarape to a succession of " banheiras," as 
they call them here ; and they are indeed woodland bathing- 
pools fit for Diana and her nymphs, completely surrounded 
by trees, and so separated from each other by leafy screens, 
that a number of persons may bathe in perfect seclusion. 
The water rushes through them with a delicious freshness, 
forming a little cascade in each. The inhabitants make the 
most of this forest bathing establishment while it lasts ; 
the rise of the river during the rainy season overflows 
and effaces it completely for half the year. While we were 
bathing, the boatmen had lighted a fire, and when we re- 
turned to the landing we found a pot of coffee simmering 
very temptingly over the embers. Thus refreshed, we re- 
turned to town just as the heat of the day was beginning to 
be oppressive. 

October 28th. — Yesterday morning, at about half past 
six o'clock, we left Manaos on an excursion to the Lake 
of Hyanuary on the western side of the Rio Negro. The 
morning was unusually fresh for these latitudes, and ? 



254 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



strong wind was blowing up so heavy a sea in the river, 
that, if it did not make one actually sea-sick, it certainly 
called up very vivid and painful associations. We were 
in a large eight-oared custom-house barge, our company 
consisting of His Excellency Dr. Epaminondas, President 
of the province, his Secretary, Senhor Codicera, Senhor 
Tavares Bastos, Major Coutinho, Mr. Agassiz and myself, 
Mr. Burkhardt, Mr. Dexter, and Mr. James. We were 
preceded by a smaller boat, an Indian montaria, in which 
was our friend Senhor Honorio, who has been so kind as to 
allow us to breakfast and dine with him during our stay 
here, and who, having undertaken to provide for our crea- 
ture comforts, had the care of a boatful of provisions. After 
an hour's row we left the rough waters of the Bio Negro, 
and, rounding a wooded point, turned into an igarape* 
which gradually narrowed up into one of those shaded, 
winding streams, which make the charm of such excur- 
sions in this country. A ragged drapery of long, faded 
grass hung from the lower branches of the trees, marking 
the height of the last rise of the river to some eighteen 
or twenty feet above its present level. Here and there a 
white heron stood on the shore, his snowy plumage glitter- 
ing in the sunlight, and numbers of Ciganas (Opistocomus), 
the pheasants of the Amazons, clustered in the bushes ; once 
a pair of large king vultures (Sarcorhamphus papa) rested 
for a moment within gunshot, but flew out of sight as our 
canoe approached ; and now and then an alligator showed 
his head above water. As we floated along through this 
picturesque channel, so characteristic of the wonderful 
region to which we were all more or less strangers, Dr. 
Epaminondas and Senhor Tavares Bastos being here also 
for the first time, the conversation turned naturally enough 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



255 



upon the nature of this Amazonian valley, its physical con- 
formation, its origin and resources, its history past and to 
come, both alike obscure, both the subject of wonder and 
speculation. Senhor Tavares Bastos, although not yet thirty 
years of age, is already distinguished in the politics of his 
country, and from the moment he entered upon public life 
to the present time the legislation of the Amazons, its 
relation to the future progress and development of the 
Brazilian Empire, have ■'been the object of his deepest 
interest. He is a leader in that class of men who advo- 
cate the most liberal policy with regard to this question, 
and has already urged upon his countrymen the importance, 
even from selfish motives, of sharing their great treasure 
with the world. He was little more than twenty years of 
age when he published his papers on the opening of the 
Amazons, which have done more, perhaps, than anything 
else, of late years, to attract attention to the subject.* 
There are points where the researches of the statesman 
and the investigator meet, and natural science is not with- 
out a voice even in the practical bearings of this question. 
Shall this region be legislated for as sea or land ? Shall 
the interests of agriculture or navigation prevail in its 
councils ? Is it essentially aquatic or terrestrial ? Such 
were some of the inquiries which came up in the course 
of the discussion. A region of country which stretches 
across a whole continent and is flooded for half the year, 
where there can never be railroads or highways, or even 
pedestrian travelling to any great extent, can hardly be 

* The most accurate information upon the industrial resources of the Valley 
of the Amazons may be found in a work published by Senhor Tavares Bastos, 
on his return to Rio de Janeiro, after this journey, entitled " Valle do Ama- 
zonas — Estudo sobre a livre Navegacao do Amazonas, Estatistica, Produccoes, 
Commercio, Questoes Fiscaes do Valle do Amazonas." Rio de Janeiro. 1866. 



256 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



considered as dry land. It is true that in this oceanic 
river-system the tidal action has an animal instead of a 
daily ebb and flow, that its rise and fall obey a larger 
orb, and is ruled by the sun and not the moon ; but it 
is, nevertheless, subject to all the conditions of a sub- 
merged district, and must be treated as such. Indeed, 
these semiannual changes of level are far more powerful 
in their influence on the life of the inhabitants than any 
marine tides. People sail half the year above districts 
where for the other half they walk, though hardly dry 
shod, over the soaked ground ; their occupations, their 
dress, their habits are modified in accordance with the 
dry and wet seasons. And not only the ways of life, but 
the whole aspect of the country, the character of the 
landscape, are changed. The two picturesque cascades, 
at one of which we took our bath the other morning, 
and at this season such favorite resorts with the inhabi 
tants of Manaos, will disappear in a few months, when 
the river rises for some forty feet above its lowest level. 
Their bold rocks and shady nooks will have become river 
bottom. All that we hear or read of the extent of 
the Amazons and its tributaries fails to give an idea of 
its immensity as a whole. One must float for months 
upon its surface, in order to understand how fully water 
has the mastery over land along its borders. Its watery 
labyrinth is rather a fresh-water ocean, cut up and di- 
vided by land, than a network of rivers. Indeed, this 
whole valley is an aquatic, not a terrestrial basin ; and 
it is not strange, when looked upon from this point of 
view, that its forests should be less full of life, compara- 
tively, than its rivers. 

While we were discussing these points, talking of the 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



257 



time when the banks of the Amazons will teem with a 
population more active and vigorous than any it has yet 
seen, — when all civilized nations will share in its wealth, 
when the twin continents will shake hands and Americans 
of the North come to help Americans of the South in 
developing its resources, — when it will be navigated from 
north to south as well as from east to west, and small 
steamers will run up to the head-quarters of all its tribu- 
taries, — while we were speculating on these things, we 
were approaching the end of our journey ; and as we 
neared the lake, there issued from its entrance a small 
two-masted canoe, evidently bound on some official mis- 
sion, for it carried the Brazilian flag, and was adorned 
with many brightly-colored streamers. As it drew near 
we heard music, and a salvo of rockets, the favorite Bra- 
zilian artillery on all festive occasions, whether by day 
or night, shot up into the air. Our arrival had been 
announced by Dr. Canavaro, of Manaos, who had come 
out the day before to make some preparations for our 
reception, and this was a welcome to the President on 
his first visit to the Indian village. When they came 
within speaking distance, a succession of hearty cheers 
went up for the President, for Tavares Bastos, whose 
character as the political advocate of the Amazons makes 
him especially welcome here, for Major Coutinho, already 
well known from his former explorations in this region, 
and for the strangers within their gates, — for the Professor 
and his party. After this reception they fell into line be- 
hind our boat, and so we came into the little port with 
something of state and ceremony. 

This pretty Indian village is hardly recognized as a 
village at once, for it consists of a number of sitios 

Q 



258 



A JOUENEY IN BRAZIL. 



scattered through the forest; and though the inhabitants 
look on each other as friends and neighbors, yet from our 
landing-place only one sitio is to be seen, — that at which 
we are staying. It stands on a hill sloping gently up 
from the lake-shore, and consists of a mud-house contain- 
ing two rooms, besides several large, open palm-thatched 
rooms outside. One of these outer sheds is the mandioca 
kitchen, another is the common kitchen, and a third, which 
is just now used as our dining-room, serves on festal days 
and occasional Sundays as a chapel. It differs from the 
others in having the upper end closed in with a neat 
thatched wall, against which, in time of need, the altar- 
table may stand, with candles and rough prints or figures 
of the Virgin and saints. We were very hospitably re- 
ceived by the Senhora of the mud-house, an old Indian 
woman, whose gold ornaments, necklace, and ear-rings were 
rather out of keeping with her calico skirt and cotton 
waist. This is, however, by no means an unusual combi- 
nation here. Beside the old lady, the family consists, at 
this moment, of her "afilhada"* (god-daughter), with 
her little boy, and several other women employed about 
the place ; but it is difficult to judge of the population 
of the sitios now, because a great number of the men 
have been taken as recruits for the war with Paraguay 
and others are hiding in the forest for fear of being 
pressed into the same service. The situation of this sitio 
is exceedingly pretty, and as we sit around the table in 
our open, airy dining-room, surrounded by the forest, we 
command a view of the lake and wooded hillside opposite 
and of the little landing below, where are moored our 

* This relation is a much nearer one throughout Brazil than with us. A 
god-child is treated as a member of their own family by its sponsors. 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



259 



barge with its white awning, the gay canoe, and two or 
three Indian montarias. After breakfast our party dis- 
persed, some to rest in their hammocks, others to hunt 
or fish, while Mr. Agassiz was fully engaged in examining 
a large basket of fish, Tucanare*s (Cichla), Acaras (Heros 
and other genera), Curimatas (Anodus), Surubims (Pla- 
ty stoma), &c, just brought up from the lake for his in- 
spection, and showing again, what every investigation dem- 
onstrates afresh, namely, the distinct localization of species 
in each different water basin, be it river, lake, igarape, or 
forest pool. 

One does not see much of the world between one o'clock 
and four, in this climate. These are the hottest hours of 
the day, and there are few who can resist the temptation 
of the cool, swinging hammock, slung in some shady spot 
within doors or without. After a little talk with our 
Indian hostess and her daughter, I found a quiet retreat 
by the lake-shore, where, though I had a book in my 
hand, the wind in the trees overhead, the water rippling 
softly around the montarias moored at my side, lulled 
me into that mood of mind when one may be lazy with- 
out remorse or ennui. The highest duty seems then to 
be to do nothing. The monotonous notes of a " Viola " 
came to me from a group of trees at a little distance, 
where our boatmen were resting in the shade, the red 
fringes of their hammocks giving to the landscape just 
the bit of color which it needed ; occasionally a rustling 
flight of parroquets or ciganas overhead startled me for 
a moment, or a large pirarucu plashed out of the water, 
but except for these sounds nature was still, and animals 
as well as men seemed to pause in the heat and seek 
shelter. Dinner brought us all together again at the 



260 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



close of the afternoon. As we are with the President 
of the province, our picnic is of a much more magnificent 
character than our purely scientific excursions have been. 
Instead of our usual makeshifts, — teacups doing duty 
as tumblers, and empty barrels acting as chairs, — we 
have a silver soup-tureen, and a cook, and a waiter, and 
knives and forks enough to go round, and many other 
luxuries which such wayfarers as ourselves learn to do 
without. While we were dining, the Indians began to 
come in from the surrounding forest to pay their respects 
to the President, for his visit was the cause of great re- 
joicing, and there was to be a ball in his honor in the 
evening. They brought an enormous cluster of game as 
an offering. What a mass of color it was! — more like a 
gorgeous bouquet of flowers than a bunch of birds. It 
was composed entirely of Toucans, with their red and 
yellow beaks, blue eyes, and soft white breasts bordered 
with crimson ; and of parrots, or papagaios as they call 
them here, with their gorgeous plumage of green, blue, 
purple, and red. When we had dined, we took coffee 
outside, while our places around the table were filled 
by the Indian guests, who were to have a dinner-party 
in their turn. It was pleasant to see with how much 
courtesy several of the Brazilian gentlemen of our party 
waited upon these Indian Senhoras, passing them a va- 
riety of dishes, helping them to wine, and treating them 
with as much attention as if they had been the highest 
ladies of the land. They seemed, however, rather shy 
and embarrassed, scarcely touching the nice things placed 
before them, till one of the gentlemen, who has lived a good 
deal among the Indians, and knows their habits perfectly, 
took the knife and fork from one of them, exclaiming, 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



261 



" Make no ceremony, and don't be ashamed ; eat with 
your fingers as your 're accustomed to do, and then you '11 
find your appetites and enjoy your dinner." His advice 
was followed, and I must say they seemed much more 
comfortable in consequence, and did more justice to the 
good fare. Although the Indians who live in the neigh- 
borhood of the towns have seen too much of the conven- 
tionalities of life not to understand the use of a knife and 
fork, no Indian will eat with one if he can help it. 

When the dinner was over, the room was cleared of the 
tables and swept ; the music, consisting of a viola, flute, and 
violin, was called in, and the ball was opened. The forest 
belles were rather shy at first in the presence of strangers ; 
but they soon warmed up and began to dance with more 
animation. They were all dressed in calico or muslin 
skirts, with loose, cotton waists, finished around the neck 
with a kind of lace they make themselves by drawing the 
threads from cotton or muslin, so as to form an open 
pattern, sewing those which remain over and over to se- 
cure them. Some of this lace is quite elaborate and very 
fine. Many of the women had their hair dressed either 
with white jessamine or with roses stuck into their round 
combs, and several wore gold beads and ear-rings. The 
dances were different from those I saw in Esperanca's 
cottage, and much more animated ; but the women pre- 
served the same air of quiet indifference which I noticed 
there. Indeed, in all the Indian dances I have seen the 
man makes the advances, while the woman is coy and 
retiring, her movements being very languid. Her partner 
throws himself at her feet, but does not elicit a smile or 
a gesture ; he stoops and pretends to be fishing ; making 
motions as if he were drawing her in with a line, he 



262 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



dances around her, snapping his fingers as if he were 
playing on castanets, and half encircling her with his 
arms, but she remains reserved and cold. Now and then 
they join together in something like a waltz, but this 
is only occasionally and for a moment. How different 
from the negro dances which we saw frequently in the 
neighborhood of Rio, and in which the advances generally 
come from the women, and are not always of the most 
modest character. The ball was gayer than ever at teri 
o'clock when I went to my room, — or rather to the room 
where my hammock was slung, and which I shared with 
Indian women and children, with a cat and her family 
of kittens, who slept on the edge of my mosquito-net 
and made frequent inroads upon the inside, with hens 
and chickens and sundry dogs, who went in and out. 
The music and dancing, the laughter and talking outside, 
continued till the small hours. Every now and then an 
Indian girl would come in to rest for a while, take a nap 
in a hammock, and then return to the dance. When we 
first arrived in South America we could hardly have slept 
soundly under such circumstances ; but one soon becomes 
accustomed, on the Amazons, to sleeping in rooms with 
mud floors and mud walls, or with no walls at all, where 
rats and birds and bats rustle about in the thatch over- 
head, and all sorts of unwonted noises in the night suggest 
that you are by no means the sole occupant of your apart- 
ment. There is one thing, however, which makes it far 
pleasanter to lodge in the houses of the Indians here than 
in those of our poorer class at home. One is quite indepen- 
dent in the matter of bedding ; nobody travels without 
his own hammock, and the net which in many places is a 
necessity on account of the mosquitoes. Beds and bedding 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



263 



are almost unknown ; and there are none so poor as not 
to possess two or three of the strong and neat twine 
Tiammocks made by the Indians themselves from the fibres 
■of the palm. Then the open character of the houses and 
the personal cleanliness of the Indians make the atmos- 
phere fresher and purer in their houses than in those of 
our poor. However untidy they may be in other respects, 
they always bathe once or twice a day, if not oftener, 
and wash their clothes frequently. We have never yet 
entered an Indian house where there was any disagree- 
able odor, unless it might be the peculiar smell from the 
preparation of the mandioca in the working-room outside, 
which has, at a certain stage of the process, a slightly 
sour smell. We certainly could not say as much for 
many houses where we have lodged when travelling in 
the West, or even " Down East," where the suspicious 
look of the bedding and the close air of the room often 
make one doubtful about the night's rest. 

This morning we were up at five o'clock, and at six we 
had had coffee and were ready for the various projects sug- 
gested for our amusement. Our sportsmen were already in 
the forest, others had gone off on a fishing excursion in a 
montaria, and I joined a party on a visit to a sitio higher 
up on the lake. Mr. Agassiz was obliged to deny himself 
all these parties of pleasure, for the novelty and variety 
of the fish brought in kept him and his artist constantly 
at work. In this climate the process of decomposition 
goes on so rapidly, that, unless the specimens are attended 
to at once, they are lost; and the paintings must be made 
while they are quite fresh, in order to give any idea of 
their vividness of tint. Mr. Burkhardt is indefatigable, 
always busy with his drawing, in spite of heat, mosquitoes, 



264 



A JOUENEY IN BEAZIL. 



and other discomforts ; occasionally lie makes not less than 
twenty colored sketches of fishes in one day. Of course, 
made with such rapidity, they are mere records of color 
and outline ; but they will be of immense service in work- 
ing up the finished drawings.* Leaving Mr. Agassiz, there- 
fore, busy with the preparation of his collections, and Mr. 
Burkhardt painting, we went up the lake through a strange, 
half-aquatic, half-terrestrial region, where land seemed at 
odds with water. Groups of trees rose directly from the 
lake, their roots hidden below its surface, while numerous 
blackened and decayed trunks stood up from the water 
in all sorts of picturesque and fantastic forms. Sometimes 
the trees had thrown down from their branches those singu- 
lar aerial roots so common here, and seemed standing on 
stilts. Here and there, where we coasted along by the 
bank, we had a glimpse into the deeper forest, with its 
drapery of lianas and various creeping vines, and its para- 
sitic sipos twining close around the trunks or swinging 
themselves from branch to branch like loose cordage. 
But usually the margin of the lake was a gently sloping 
bank, covered with a green so vivid and yet so soft, that 
it seemed as if the earth had been born afresh in its six 
months' baptism, and had come out like a new creation. 
Here and there a palm lifted its head above the line of 
forest, especially the light, graceful Assai, its crown of 
feathery leaves vibrating above the tall, slender, smooth 
stem with every breeze. Half an hour's row brought 
us to the landing of the sitio for which we were bound. 
Usually the sitios stand on the bank of the lake or river, 
a stone's throw from the shore, for convenience of fishing, 

* In the course of our journey on the Amazons, Mr. Burkhardt made more 
than eight hundred paintings of fishes, more or less finished. — L. A. 



EETURN TO MANAOS. 



265 



bathing, &c. But this one was at some distance, with a 
very nicely kept path winding through the forest. It stood 
on the brow of a hill which dipped down on the other 
side into a wide and deep ravine ; through this ravine 
ran an igarape, beyond which the land rose again in 
an undulating line of hilly ground, most refreshing to 
the eye after the flat character of the Upper Amazonian 
scenery. The fact that this sitio, standing now on a hill 
overlooking the valley and the little stream at its bottom, 
will have the water nearly flush with the ground around it, 
when the igarape is swollen by the rise of the river, gives 
an idea of the difference of aspect between the dry and 
wet seasons. The establishment consisted of a number 
of buildings, the most conspicuous being a large open 
room, which the Indian Senhora who did the honors of 
the house told me was their reception-room, and was 
often used, she said, by the " brancas " from Manaos and 
the neighborhood for an evening dance, when they came 
out in a large company and passed the night. A low 
wall, some three or four feet in height, ran along the 
sides, wooden benches being placed against them for their 
whole length. The two ends were closed from top to 
bottom with a wall made of palm- thatch, exceedingly 
pretty, fine, and smooth, and of a soft straw color. At 
the upper end stood an immense embroidery-frame, look- 
ing as if it might have served for Penelope's web, but 
in which was stretched an unfinished hammock of palm- 
thread, the Senhora's work. She sat down on a low stool 
before it and worked a little for my benefit, showing me 
how the two layers of transverse threads were kept apart 
by a thick, polished piece of wood, something like a long, 
broad ruler. Through the opening thus made the shuttle 
12 



266 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



is passed with the cross thread, which is then pushed down 
and straightened in its place by means of the same piece 
of wood. After we had rested for a while, hammocks 
of various color and texture being immediately brought 
and hung up for our accommodation, the gentlemen went 
down to bathe in the igarape, while the Senhora and her 
daughter, a very pretty Indian woman, showed me the 
rest of the establishment. The elder of the two had the 
direction of everything now, as the master of the house 
was absent, having a captain's commission in the army. 

In the course of our conversation I was reminded of a 
social feature which strikes us as the more extraordi- 
nary the longer we remain on the Amazons, on account 
of its generality. Here were people of gentle condition, 
although of Indian blood, lifted above everything like 
want, living in comfort and, as compared with people 
about them, with a certain affluence, — people from whom, 
therefore, in any other society, you might certainly expect 
a knowledge of the common rules of morality. Yet when 
I was introduced to the daughter, and naturally asked 
something about her father, supposing him to be the absent 
captain, the mother answered, smiling, quite as a matter 
of course, " Nao tern pai ; e filha da fortuna," — "She 
has n't any father ; she is the daughter of chance." In 
the same way, when the daughter showed me two children 
of her own, — little fair people, many shades lighter than 
herself, — and I asked whether their father was at the war, 
like all the rest of the men, she gave me the same answer, 
£ ' They have n't any father." It is the way the Indian or 
half-breed women here always speak of their illegitimate 
children ; and though they say it without an intonation of 
sadness or of blame, apparently as unconscious of any 



EETURN TO MANAOS. 



267 



wrong or shame as if they said the father was absent or 
dead, it has the - most melancholy significance ; it seems to 
speak of such absolute desertion. So far is this from being 
an unusual case, that among the common people the oppo- 
site seems the exception. Children are frequently quite 
ignorant of their parentage. They know about their 
mother, for all the care and responsibility falls upon 
her, but they have no knowledge of their father ; nor 
does it seem to occur to the woman that she or her 
children have any claim upon him. 

But to return to the sitio. The room I have described 
stood on one side of a cleared and neatly swept ground, 
about which, at various distances, stood a number of 
little thatched " casinhas," as they call them, consisting 
mostly of a single room. But beside these there was one 
larger house, with mud walls and floor, containing two 
or three rooms, and having a wooden veranda in front. 
This was the Senhora's private establishment. At a little 
distance farther down on the hill was the mandioca kitchen 
and all the accompanying apparatus. Nothing could be 
neater than the whole area of this sitio, and while we 
were there two or three black girls were sent out to 
sweep it afresh with their stiff twig-brooms. Around lay 
the plantation of mandioca and cacao, with here and 
there a few coffee-shrubs. It is difficult to judge of the 
extent of these sitio plantations, because they are so irregu- 
lar and comprise such a variety of trees, — mandioca, coffee, 
cacao, and often cotton, being planted pellmell together. 
But this one, like the whole establishment, seemed larger 
and better cared for than those usually seen. On the 
return of the gentlemen from the igarape* we took leave, 
though very warmly pressed to stay and breakfast. At 



268 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



parting, our Indian hostess presented me with a wicker- 
basket of fresh eggs and some abacatys, or alligator pears 
as we call them.* We reached the house just in time for 
a ten o'clock breakfast, which assembled all the different 
parties once more from their various occupations, whether 
of work or play. The sportsmen returned from the forest, 
bringing a goodly supply of toucans, papagaios, and parro- 
quets, with a variety of other birds, and the fisherman 
brought in new treasures for Mr. Agassiz. 

October 29th. — Yesterday, after breakfast, I retreated to 
the room where we had passed the night, hoping to find 
time and quiet for writing letters and completing my jour- 
nal. But I found it already occupied by the old Senhora 
and her guests, who were lounging in the hammocks or 
squatting on the floor and smoking their pipes. The 
house is indeed full to overflowing, as the whole party as- 
sembled for the ball are to stay during the President's 
v'sit. But in this way of living it is an easy matter to 
accommodate any number of people, for if they cannot all 
be received under the roof, they can hang their hammocks 
under the trees outside. As I went to my room last even- 
ing, I stopped to look at a pretty picture of an Indian 
mother with her two little children asleep on either arm, 
all in one hammock, in the open air. My Indian friends 
were too much interested in my occupations to allow of 
my continuing them uninterruptedly. They were delight- 
ed with my books (I happened to have " The Naturalist 
on the Amazons " with me, in which I showed them some 
pictures of Amazonian scenery and insects), and asked me 
many questions about my country, my voyage, and my 
travels here. In return they gave me much information 

* The fruit of the Persea gratissima. 



RETURN TO MAN AOS. 



269 



about their own way of life. They said the present gath- 
ering of neighbors and friends was no unusual occurrence, 
for they have a great many festas, which, though partly 
religious in character, are also occasions of great festivity. 
These festas are celebrated at different sitios in turn, the 
saint of the day being carried, with all his ornaments, can- 
dles, bouquets, <fcc, to the house where the ceremony is to 
take place, and where all the people of the village congre- 
gate. Sometimes the festa lasts for several days, and is 
accompanied with processions, music, and dances in the 
evening. But the women said the forest was very sad 
now, because their men had all been taken as recruits, 
or were seeking safety in the woods. The old Senhora 
told me a sad story of the brutality exercised in recruit- 
ing the Indians. She assured me that they were taken 
wherever found, without regard to age or circumstances, 
women and children often being dependent upon them ; 
and if they made resistance, were carried off by force, and 
frequently handcuffed or had heavy weights attached to 
their feet. Such proceedings are entirely illegal ; but these 
forest villages are so remote, that the men employed to 
recruit may practice any cruelty without being called to 
account for it. If the recruits are brought in in good 
condition, no questions are asked. These women said 
that all the work of the sitios — the making of farinha, 
the fishing, the turtle-hunting — was stopped for want of 
hands. The appearance of things certainly confirms this, 
for we scarcely see any men in the villages, and the ca- 
noes we meet are mostly rowed by women. 

Yet I must say that the life of the Indian woman, so 
far as we have seen it, seems enviable, in comparison with 
that of the Brazilian lady in the Amazonian towns. The 



270 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



former lias a healthful out-of-door life ; she has her canoe 
on the lake or river and her paths through the forest, with 
perfect liberty to come and go ; she has her appointed daily 
occupations, being busy not only with the care of her house 
and children, but in making farinha or tapioca, or in drying 
and rolling tobacco, while the men are fishing and turtle- 
hunting ; and she has her frequent festa-days to enliven 
her working life. It is, on the contrary, impossible to 
imagine anything more dreary and monotonous than the 
life of the Brazilian Senhora in the smaller towns. In 
the northern provinces especially the old Portuguese no- 
tions about shutting women up and making their home- 
life as colorless as that of a cloistered nun, without even 
the element of religious enthusiasm to give it zest, still 
prevail. Many a Brazilian lady passes day after day with- 
out stirring beyond her four walls, scarcely ever show- 
ing herself at the door or window; for she is always in a 
slovenly dishabille, unless she expects company. It is sad 
to see these stifled existences ; without any contact with 
the world outside, without any charm of domestic life, 
without books or culture of any kind, the Brazilian Sen- 
hora in this part of the country either sinks contentedly 
into a vapid, empty, aimless life, or frets against her chains, 
and is as discontented as she is useless. 

On the day of our arrival the dinner was interrupted 
by the entrance of the Indians with their greetings and 
presents of game to the President ; yesterday it was en- 
livened by quite a number of appropriate toasts and speech- 
es. I thought, as we sat around the dinner-table, there had 
probably never been gathered under the palm-roof of an 
Indian house on the Amazons just such a party before^ 
combining so many different elements and objects. There 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



271 



was the President, whose chief interest was of course in 
administering the affairs of the province, in which the 
Indians shared largely his attention ; there was the young 
statesman, whose whole heart is in the great national 
question of peopling the Amazons and opening it to the 
world, and the effect this movement is to have upon his 
country ; there was the able engineer, much of whose 
scientific life has been passed in surveying the great river 
and its tributaries with a view to their future naviga 
tion ; and there was the man of pure science, come to 
study the distribution of animal life in their waters, with- 
out any view to practical questions. The speeches touched 
upon all these different interests, and were received with 
enthusiasm, each one closing with a toast and music ; 
for our little band of the night before was brought in 
to enliven the occasion. The Brazilians are very happy 
in their after-dinner speeches, expressing themselves with 
great facility, either from a natural gift or because speech- 
making is an art in which they have had much practice. 
The habit of drinking healths and giving toasts is very 
general throughout the country, and the most informal 
dinner among intimate friends does not conclude without 
some mutual greetings of this kind. 

As we were taking coffee under the trees afterwards, 
having yielded our places, in the primitive dining-room, to 
the Indian guests, the President suggested a sunset row 
on the lake. The hour and the light were most tempt- 
ing, and we were soon off in the canoe, taking no boat- 
men, the gentlemen preferring to row themselves. We 
went through the same lovely region, half water, half 
land, which we had passed in the morning, floating be- 
tween patches of greenest grass, and by large forest trees, 



272 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



and blackened trunks standing out of the lake like ruins. 
We did not go very fast nor very far, for our amateur 
boatmen found the evening warm, and their rowing was 
rather play than work ; they stopped, too, every now and 
then, to get a shot at a white heron or to shoot into a flock 
of parroquets or ciganas, whereby they wasted a good deal 
of powder to no effect. As we turned to come back we 
were met by one of the prettiest sights I have ever seen. 
The Indian women, having finished their dinner, had taken 
the little two-masted canoe, dressed with flags, which had 
been prepared for the President's reception, and had come 
out to meet us. They had the music on board and there 
were two or three men in the boat; but the women were 
some twelve or fifteen in number, and seemed, like genuine 
Amazons, to have taken things into their own hands. They 
were rowing with a will ; and as the canoe drew near, with 
music playing and flags flying, the purple lake, dyed in the 
sunset and smooth as a mirror, gave back the picture. 
Every tawny figure at the oars, every flutter of the crim- 
son and blue streamers, every fold of the green and yellow 
national flag at the prow, was as distinct below the surface as 
above it. The fairy boat — for so it looked — floating be- 
tween glowing sky and water, and seeming to borrow color 
from both, came on apace ; and as it approached, our friends 
greeted us with many a Viva, to which we responded as 
heartily. Then the two canoes joined company and we 
went on together, the guitar sometimes being taken into 
one canoe and sometimes into the other, while Brazilian and 
Indian songs followed each other. Anything more national, 
more completely imbued with tropical coloring and charac- 
ter than this evening scene on the lake, can hardly be 
conceived. When we reached the landing, the gold and 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



273 



rose-colored clouds were fading into soft masses of white 
and ashen gray, and moonlight was taking the place of 
sunset. As we went up the green slope to the sitio, a 
dance on the grass was proposed, and the Indian girls 
formed a quadrille ; for thus much of civilization has 
crept into their native manners, though they throw into 
it so much of their own characteristic movements, that 
it loses something of its conventional aspect. Then we 
returned to the house, where the dancing and singing 
were renewed, while here and there groups sat about on 
the ground laughing and talking, the women smoking 
with as much enjoyment as the men. Smoking is almost 
universal among the common women here, yet is not con- 
fined to the lower classes. Many a Senhora (at least in 
this part of Brazil, for we must distinguish between the 
civilization on the banks of the Amazons and in the in- 
terior and that in the cities along the coast) enjoys her 
pipe, while she lounges in her hammock through the heat 
of the day. 

October 30£A. — Yesterday our party broke up. The 
Indian women came to bid us good-by after breakfast, 
and dispersed to their several homes, going off in various 
directions through the forest-paths in little groups, their 
babies, of whom there were a goodly number, astride on 
their hips, as usual, and the older children following. 
Mr. Agassiz passed the morning in packing and arranging 
his fishes, having collected in those two days more than 
seventy new species.* His studies have been the subject 

* I was indebted to the President for many valuable specimens on this 
excursion, many of the birds and fishes brought in by the Indians for the 
table being turned over to the scientific collections. My young friends 
Dexter and James were also efficient, passing always a part of the day in 
the woods, and assisting me greatly in the preparation and preservation of the 
12* B 



274 



A JOURNEY IN BEAZIL. 



of great curiosity to the people about the sitio ; one or 
two were always hovering about to look at his work and 
to watch Mr. Burkhardt's drawing. They seemed to think 
it extraordinary that any one should care to take the por- 
trait of a fish. The familiarity of these children of the 
forest with the natural objects about them — plants, birds, 
insects, fishes, etc. — is remarkable. They frequently ask to 
see the drawings ; and in turning over a pile containing sev- 
eral hundred colored sketches of fishes, they scarcely make 
a mistake, — even the children giving the name instantly, 
and often adding, " E filho d'este," (it is the child of such 
an one,) thus distinguishing the young from the adult, and 
pointing out their relation. 

We dined rather earlier than usual, our chief dish being 
a stew of parrots and toucans, and left the sitio at about 
five o'clock, in three canoes, the music accompanying us 
in the smaller boat. Our Indian friends stood on the 
shore as we left, giving us farewell greetings, waving 
their hats and hands, and cheering heartily. The after- 
noon row through the lake and igarape" was delicious ; 
but the sun had long set as we issued from the little 
river, and the Rio Negro, where it opens broadly out into 
the Amazons, was a sea of silver. The boat with the 
music presently joined our canoe, and we had a number 
of the Brazilian " modinhas," as they call them, — songs 
which seem especially adapted for the guitar. These mo- 
specimens. Among others we made a curious skeleton of a large black Doras, 
a species remarkable for the row of powerful scales extending along the side, 
each one provided with a sharp hook bent backward. It is the species I have 
described, in Spix and Martius's great work, under the name of Doras Hum- 
boldti. The anterior vertebrae form a bony swelling of a spongeous texture, 
resembling drums, on each side of the backbone. — L. A. 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



275 



dinhas have a quite peculiar character. They are little 
graceful, lyrical snatches of song, with a rather melan- 
choly cadence ; even those of which the words are gay 
not being quite free from this, undertone of sadness. 
This put us all into a somewhat dreamy mood, and we 
approached the end of our journey rather silently. But 
as we drew near the landing, we heard the sound of a 
band of brass instruments, effectually drowning our feeble 
efforts, and saw a crowded canoe coming towards us. 
They were the boys from the Indian school which we 
visited on our previous stay at Manaos. The canoe 
looked very pretty as it came towards us in the moon- 
light ; it seemed full to overflowing, the children all 
dressed in white uniforms and standing up. This little 
band comes always on Sunday evenings and festa-days 
to play before the President's house. They were just 
going home, it being nearly ten o'clock ; but the President 
called to them to turn back, and they accompanied us to 
the beach, playing all the while. Thus our pleasant three 
days' picnic ended with music and moonlight. 



276 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTER IX. 

MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Photographic Establishment. — Indian Portraits. — Excursion to the 
"Great Cascade." — Its Geological Formation. — Bathing Pool. — 
Parasitic Plants. — Return by the Igarape. — Public Ball. — Severity 
in Recruiting, and its Effects. — Collecting Parties. — Scenes of In- 
dian Life. — Fete Champetre at the " Casa dos Educandos." — Prison 
at Manaos. — Prison Discipline on the Amazons. — Extracts from 
Presidential Reports on this Subject. — Prison at Teffe. — General 
Character of Brazilian Institutions. — Emperor's Birthday. — Illu- 
minations and Public Festivities. — Return of Collecting Parties. — 
Remarks on the Races. — Leave Manaos for Mauhes. 

Saturday, November \ih. — Manaos. This week has been 
rather uneventful. Mr. Agassiz is prevented from undertak- 
ing new expeditions by the want of alcohol. The next steam- 
er will bring a fresh supply from Pard ; and meanwhile, 
being interrupted in his collections, he is making a study 
of the various intermixture of races, Indians and Negroes, 
with their crossings, of which a great number are found 
here. Our picturesque barrack of a room, which we 
have left for more comfortable quarters in Mr. Honorio's 
house, serves as a photographic saloon, and here Mr. Agassiz 
is at work half the day with his young friend Mr. Hunne- 
well, who spent almost the whole time of our stay in Rio 
in learning photography, and has become quite expert in 
taking likenesses. The grand difficulty is found in the 
prejudices of the people themselves. There is a prevalent 
superstition among the Indians and Negroes that a portrait 
absorbs into itself something of the vitality of the sitter, 
and that any one is liable to die shortly after his picture 
is taken. This notion is so deeply rooted that it has been 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



277 



no easy matter to overcome it. However, of late the de- 
sire to see themselves in a picture is gradually gaining the 
ascendant, the example of a few courageous ones having 
emboldened the more timid, and models are much more 
easily obtained now than they were at first. 

Yesterday our quiet life was interrupted by an excursion 
to the great cascade, where we went with a party of friends 
to breakfast and dine. We were called with the dawn, 
and were on the road at six o'clock, the servants following 
laden with baskets of provisions. The dewy walk through 
the woods in the early morning was very pleasant, and we 
arrived at the little house above the cascade before the 
heat of the day began. This house stands on a hill in a 
cleared ground entirely surrounded by forest ; just below 
it the river comes rushing through the wood, and falls 
some ten feet over a thin platform of rock. By its forma- 
tion, this cascade is a Niagara in miniature ; that is, the 
lower layer of rock being softer than the upper, the water 
has worn it away until there now remains only a thin 
slab of harder rock across the river. Deprived of its sup- 
port, this slab must break down eventually, as Table-rock 
has done, when the cascade will, of course, retreat by so 
much and begin the same process a little higher up. It 
has, no doubt, thus worn its way upward already from a 
distant point. The lower deposit is clay, the upper consists 
of the constantly recurring reddish sandstone, — in other 
words, drift worked over by water. Below the fall, the 
water goes tearing along through a narrow passage, over 
boulders, fallen trees, and decaying logs, which break 
it into rapids. At a little distance from the cascade 
there is a deep, broad basin in the wood, with a sand 
bottom, so overshadowed by great trees that it looks dark 



278 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



even in tropical midday. The bathing here, as we found 
by experience at a later hour, is most delicious. The 
shade over the pool is so profound and the current runs 
through it so swiftly that the water is exceedingly cold, — 
an unusual thing here, — and it seems very refreshing to 
those coming from the hot sun outside. At the side of this 
pool I saw a very large parasitic plant in flower. Since we 
have been on the Amazons most of these parasites have been 
out of bloom, and, though we have seen beautiful collections 
in private gardens, we have not met them in the woods. 
This one was growing in the lofty notch of a great tree, 
overhanging the water ; a tuft of dark green leaves with 
large violet and straw-colored blossoms among them. It 
was quite out of reach, and the little garden looked so 
pretty in its airy perch, that I was almost glad we had no 
power to disturb it. After breakfast some of the guests, 
and Mr. Agassiz among them, were obliged to return to 
town on business. They rejoined us in time for a late 
dinner, arriving in a canoe instead of coming on foot, 
an experiment which we had been prevented from trying 
in the morning, because we had been told that, as the 
igarapd was low and the bottom very rocky, it would be 
impossible to ascend the whole distance in a boat. They 
came, however, in perfect safety, and were delighted with 
the picturesque beauty of the row. After a very cheerful 
dinner, closing with a cup of coffee in the open air, we 
started at twilight for town, by different roads. Desirous 
to see the lower course of the igarape*, which Mr. Agassiz 
reported as so beautiful, and being assured that there was 
no real danger, I returned in the little canoe with Mr. 
Honorio. It was thought best not to overload it, so the 
others took the forest road by which we had come in the 



MAN A OS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



279 



morning. I must say that as I went down the rough 
steps to the landing, in the very pool where we had 
bathed, it struck me that the undertaking was somewhat 
perilous ; if this overshadowed nook was dark at noonday, 
it was black at nightfall, and the turbulent little stream, 
rushing along over rocks and logs, looked mischievous. The 
rest of the party went with us to the embarkation, and, 
as we disappeared in the darkness under the overhanging 
branches, one of them called after us, laughingly, 

" Lasciate ogni speranza, voi che 'ntrate." 

However, there was only danger enough to laugh at, none 
to give real concern, and I enjoyed the row through the 
narrow channel, where the trees met overhead, and where 
the boatmen were obliged to jump into the water to guide 
the canoe among the boulders and fallen trunks. We 
reached home in perfect safety, and in time to welcome 
the others when they arrived on foot, 

November 8th. — Manaos has been in unwonted agitation, 
for the last few days, on the subject of a public ball to be 
given in honor of Mr. Tavares Bastos. Where it should 
take place, what should be the day and hour, and, among 
the Senhoras, what one should wear, have been the subjects 
of discussion. The doubtful questions were at last settled, 
and it was appointed for the fifth of the month, in the 
President's palace. "Palace" is the name always given 
to the residence of the President of the province, however 
little the house may be in keeping with the title. The 
night was not so auspicious as could have been wished ; 
it was very dark, and, as no such luxury as a carriage is 
known here, the different parties might be seen groping 
through the streets at the appointed hour, lighted with 



280 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



lanterns. Every now and then, as we were on our way, 
a ball-dress would emerge from the darkness of an oppo- 
site corner, picking its way with great care along the 
muddy ruts. When we had all assembled, however, I 
did not see that any toilet had suffered seriously on the 
road. The dresses were of every variety, from silks and 
satins to stuff gowns, and the complexions of all tints, 
from the genuine negro through paler shades of Indian 
and negro to white. There is absolutely no distinction 
of color here ; a black lady, always supposing her to be 
free, is treated with as much consideration and meets 
with as much attention as a white one. It is, however, 
rare to see a person in society who can be called a genuine 
negro ; but there are many mulattoes and mamelucos, that 
is, persons having black or Indian blood. There is little 
ease in Brazilian society, even in the larger cities ; still 
less in the smaller ones, where, to guard against mistakes, 
the conventionalities of town life are exaggerated. The Bra- 
zilians, indeed, though so kind and hospitable, are a formal 
people, fond of etiquette and social solemnities. On their 
arrival, all the Senhoras were placed in stiff rows around 
the walls of the dancing-room. Occasionally an unfortu- 
nate cavalier would stray in and address a few words 
to this formidable array of feminine charms ; but it was 
not until the close of the evening, when the dancing had 
broken up the company into groups, that the scene became 
really gay. At intervals, trays of " doces " and tea were 
handed round, and at twelve there was a more solid repast, 
at which all the ladies were seated, their partners standing 
behind their chairs and waiting upon them. Then began 
the toasts and healths, which were given and received with 
great enthusiasm. After supper the dancing was renewed 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



281 



and continued till after midnight, when the steamer from 
Pard was seen coming into port, throwing up rockets and 
burning blue-lights as she advanced, to announce that she 
was the bearer of good tidings from the war. This, of 
course, gave general satisfaction, and the ball broke up 
in great hilarity. There were some who did not sleep 
at all that night, for many of the gentlemen went from 
the ball-room to the steamer in search of the papers, 
which brought the news of a decided victory over the Para- 
guayans, at Uruguayana, where the Emperor commanded 
in person. It is said that seven thousand prisoners were 
taken. The next night the ball was renewed in honor 
of this victory ; so that Manaos, whose inhabitants com- 
plain of the life as very dull, has had a most unwonted 
rush of gayety this week. 

November 9th. — The severity in recruiting, of which we 
heard so much at the Lake of Hyanuary, is beginning to 
bear its fruits in general discontent. Some of the recruits 
have made their escape, and, on Tuesday and Wednesday, 
before the steamer in which they were to go down to Para 
sailed, the disturbance was so great among them that they 
were kept under lock and key. The impression seems 
to be general here that the province of the Amazonas has 
been called upon to bear more than its share of the 
burden, and that the defencelessness of the Indians in 
the scattered settlements has made them especially victims. 
As there was no other armed force here, several of the 
crew of the " Ibicuhy " were taken to go down to Para 
as guard over the unruly troops. Partly in consequence 
of this, we have resolved to remain at Manaos till the 
end of the month ; a delay which Mr. Agassiz does not 
regret, as it enables him to continue the comparison of 



282 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



the races which he has begun, and for which the circum- 
stances here are unusually favorable. In the mean time 
the President has provided him with canoes and men for 
three separate expeditions, on which he sends off three par- 
ties this week : Mr. Talisman and Mr. Dexter to the Rio 
Negro and Rio Branco, to be absent six weeks ; Mr. Thayer 
and Mr. Bourget to Lake Cudajas, to be gone ten days ; 
Mr. James to Manacapuru, for about the same time. 
We feel the generosity of this conduct the more, know- 
ing how greatly the administration stands in need of men 
and of all the resources at its command in the present 
disturbed state of things. 

November l%th. — One can hardly walk in any direction 
out of the town without meeting something characteristic 
of the people and their ways of living. At seven o'clock, 
to-day, I took my morning walk through the wood near 
the house to an igarape, which is the scene of much of 
the out-of-doors life here, — fishing, washing, bathing, turtle- 
shooting. As I returned along the little path leading 
by the side of the stream, two naked Indian boys were 
shooting fish with bow and arrows from a fallen tree 
which jutted out into the stream. Like bronze statues 
they looked, as they stood quiet and watchful, in attitudes 
full of grace and strength, their bows drawn ready to let 
the arrow fly the moment they should catch sight of the 
fish. The Indian boys are wonderfully skilful in this 
sport, and also in shooting arrows through long blow-pipes 
(Sarabatanas) to kill birds. This is no bad way of shooting, 
for the report of the gun startles the game so effectually in 
these thick forests, that after a few shots the sportsman 
finds the woods in his immediate neighborhood deserted ; 
whereas the Indian boy creeps stealthily up to the spot 



MANA0S AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



283 



from which he takes aim and discharges his noiseless 
arrow with such precision, that the bird or monkey drops 
down from among its companions, without their perceiving 
the cause of its disappearance. While I was watching the 
boys, a canoe came up the stream, paddled by women, and 
loaded with fruit and vegetables, on the top of which sat 
two bright green parrots. Two of the women were old 
and hideous, very wrinkled and withered, as these people 
usually are in old age ; but the third was the handsomest 
Indian woman I have ever seen, with a tinge of white 
blood to be sure, for her skin was fairer and her features 
more regular than those of the Indians generally. They 
were coming from their sitio, as I learned afterwards. 
When they had moored their boat to a tree, the younger 
woman began to unload, tucking her petticoat about her 
hips, and wading to and fro with baskets of fruit and 
vegetables on her head. Her hair was dressed with flow- 
ers, as is usual with these women ; however scanty their 
clothing, they seldom forget this ornament. 

November 20th. — The President, Dr. Epaminondas, added 
yesterday to the many kindnesses by which he has rendered 
our stay here doubly pleasant, in giving an exceedingly 
pretty fete in honor of Mr. Agassiz. The place chosen 
was the asylum for Indian children already described, 
well adapted for the purpose on account of its large, airy 
rooms and beautiful situation ; and the invitation was given 
out in the name of the " Province of the Amazonas." * 

* I trust that the motive will not be misunderstood which induces me to add 
here a translation of the general cards of invitation distributed on this occasion. 
The graceful expression of a thought so kind, and the manner in which the 
President merges his own personality in the name of the Province of which 
he is the administrative head, are so characteristic of his mingled courtesy and 
modesty, that I am tempted to insert the note, notwithstanding its personal 



284 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



The day was most propitious ; a rain during the night 
had cooled the air, and a slightly overcast sky, combined 
with the freshness of the atmosphere, gave just the con- 
ditions most desirable for any such excursion in this 
climate. When we reached the beach from which we 
were to leave, people were beginning to assemble, and a 
number of canoes were already on their way, looking 
very gay with their white awnings above and the bright 
dresses inside. Twenty minutes' row brought us to our 
destination. The scene was very pretty ; the path from 
the landing to the main house was lined with flags and 

character. Unfortunately, I cannot always do full justice to the kindness 
shown Mr. Agassiz throughout our journey, or to the general appreciation 
of his scientific objects, without introducing testimonials into this narrative 
which it would perhaps be more becoming in me to suppress. But I do not 
know how otherwise to acknowledge our obligations, and I trust it will be 
attributed, by candid readers, to the true motive, — to gratitude and not to 
egotism. 

" The scientific labors undertaken at this time by the learned and illustrious 
Professor Agassiz in this Province, merit from tbe Amazonenses the most 
sincere gratitude and acknowledgment, and elicit on our part a manifestation 
by which we seek to show due appreciation of his high intellectual merit. 
I wish that for this object I could dispose of more abundant resources, or 
that the Province had in readiness better means of showing the veneration 
and cordial esteem we all bear to him, the respect and admiration we feel 
for his scientific explorations. But the uncertainty of his stay among us 
obliges me to offer at once some proof, however insignificant, of our profound 
esteem for this most deserving American. 

" To this end, the accomplishment of which I cannot longer defer, I invite all 
to join me in offering to Professor Agassiz and to his wife, in the name of the 
Province of the Amazonas, a modest rural breakfast (almoco campestre) in the 
Casa dos Educandos, on Sunday, the 18th of this month, at 11 o'clock in the 
morning. I hereby invite you and your family to be present, in order that this 
festival, great in the earnestness of our intentions, however small as compared 
with the importance of those to whom it is offered, should be gay and brilliant. 

" Antonio Epaminondas de Mello. 

"Palace of the Government at Manaos, 13 November, 1865." 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



285 



with palm-trees brought from the forest for the occasion, 
and the open sides of the large rooms outside, usually 
working-rooms, but now fitted up for the breakfast, were 
all filled in with green arches built of trees and flowers, 
so that the whole space was transformed, for the time 
being, into an arbor. We were received with music and 
conducted to the main building, where all the guests 
gradually assembled, some two hundred in number. At 
about one o'clock the President led the way to the green 
arcades which, as yet, we had seen only from a distance. 
Nothing could be more tasteful than the arrangements. 
The tables were placed around a hollow square, in the 
centre of which was the American flag, with the Bra- 
zilian on either side of it ; while a number of other flags 
draped the room and made the whole scene bright with 
color. The landscape, framed in the open green arches, 
made so many pictures, pretty glimpses of water and 
wood, with here and there a palm-thatched roof among 
the trees on the opposite side of the river. A fresh breeze 
blew through the open dining-room, stirring the folds of 
the flags, and making a pleasant rustle in the trees, which 
added their music to that of the band outside. Since we 
are on the Amazons, a thousand miles from its mouth, 
it is worth while to say a word of the breakfast itself. 
There is such an exaggerated idea of the hardships and 
difficulty of a voyage on the Amazons, (at least so I infer 
from many remarks made to us, not only at home, but 
even in Rio de Janeiro by Brazilians themselves, when 
we were on the eve of departure for this journey,) that 
it will hardly be believed that a public breakfast, given 
in Manaos, should have all the comforts, and almost all 
the luxuries, of a similar entertainment in any other part 



286 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



of the world. It is true, that we had neither ices nor 
champagne, the former being of course difficult to obtain 
in this climate ; but these two exceptions were more than 
compensated for by the presence of tropical fruits not 
to be had elsewhere at any price, — enormous Pineapples, 
green and purple Abacatys (alligator pears), crimson Pi- 
tangas, Attas (fruta do Conde), Abios, Sapotis, Bananas 
of the choicest kinds and in the greatest profusion, and a 
variety of Maracujas (the fruit of the passion-flower).* 
The breakfast was gay, the toasts were numerous, the 
speeches animated, and long after the Senhoras had left the 
table the room still echoed with Vivas, as health followed 
health. At the close of the dinner there was a little 
scene which struck us as very pretty ; I do not know 
whether it is a custom here, but, as it excited no remark, 
I suppose it may be. When the gentlemen returned to the 
house, bringing the music with them, all the waiters assem- 
bled in line before the door, decanter and glass in hand, to 
finish the remains of the wine with a toast on their own 
account. The head-waiter then stood in front of them 
and gave the health, first, of the persons for whom the 
banquet was given, followed by that of the President, 
all of which were answered with Vivas as they filled their 
glasses. Then one of the gentlemen stepping forward gave, 
amid shouts of laughter, the health of the head-waiter 

* As I do not wish to mislead, and this narrative may perhaps influence 
some one to make a journey in this region, I should add, that, while the above 
is strictly true, there are many things essential to the comfort of the traveller 
not to be had. There is not a decent hotel throughout the whole length of the 
Amazons, and any one who thinks of travelling there must provide himself 
with such letters as will secure accommodation in private houses. So recom- 
mended, he may safely depend upon hospitality, or upon such assistance from 
individuals as will enable him to find a private lodging. 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



287 



himself, which was drank in a closing bumper with per- 
haps more animation than either of the others. The af- 
ternoon closed with dancing, and at sunset the canoes 
assembled and we returned to the city, all feeling, I 
believe, that the festival had been a very happy one. 
It certainly was so for those to whom it was intended to 
give pleasure, and could hardly fail to be likewise for 
those who had planned and executed it. It will seem 
strange to many of my readers that Sunday should be 
chosen for such a fete ; but here, as in many parts of 
continental Europe, even in Protestant districts, Sunday is 
a holiday and kept as such. 

November 27th. — Yesterday I visited the prison where 
the wife of the chief of police had invited me to see some 
of the carved articles, straw work, <fcc, made by the prison- 
ers. I had expected to be pained, because I thought, from 
the retrograde character of things in general here, the 
prison system would be bad. But the climate in these 
hot countries regulates the prison life in some degree. 
Men cannot be shut up in close, dark cells, without en- 
dangering not only their own lives, but the sanitary con- 
dition of the establishment also. Therefore the prison is 
light and airy, with plenty of doors and windows, secured 
by bars, but not otherwise closed. I infer, however, from 
a passage on the prisons of the province, contained in one 
of the able reports of President Adolfo de Barros (1864), 
that within the last year there has been a great improve- 
ment, at least in the prison of Manaos. He says : " The 
state of the prisons exceeds all that can be said to their 
disadvantage. Not only is it true that there is not to be 
found throughout the province a prison which fulfils the 
conditions imposed by the law, but there is not one which 



288 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



deserves the name of prison with the exception of that in 
the capital. And even this one, while it does not possess 
one of the conditions exacted by similar institutions, con- 
tains so disproportionate a number of prisoners of all 
classes, so indiscriminately mingled, that, setting aside the 
other difficulties arising from this association, it is only 
by the mercy of Providence that the jail has not been 
converted into a focus of epidemics during the great heat 
prevailing in this city for a great part of the year. In 
four small rooms, insufficiently ventilated and lighted, are 
assembled forty prisoners (including the sick) of various 
classes and conditions. Without air, without cleanliness, 
almost without room to move in their smothered and damp 
enclosure, these unhappy beings, against all precepts of 
law and humanity, suffer far more than the simple and 
salutary rigor of punishment." These strictures must 
have led to a great amendment, for the prison does not 
now appear to be deficient in light or in ventilation, and 
there is a hospital provided apart for the sick. Some of 
the prisoners, especially those who were there for political 
offences, having been concerned in a recent revolt at Serpa, 
were very heavily ironed ; but, excepting this, there were 
no signs, visible at least to the transient observer, of cruelty 
or neglect. After some remarks on the best modes of re- 
forming these abuses and the means to be employed for 
that object, Dr. Adolfo goes on to speak of the ruinous 
condition of the prisons in other cities of the province. 
" Such is the state of the prison in the town of Teffe 
The edifice in which it is established is an old and crum 
bling house, belonging to the municipality, thatched with 
straw, and so ruinous, that it seemed to me, when I 
visited it, rather like a deserted habitation than like a 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBOEHOOD. 



289 



building destined for the detention of criminals. There 
were but a few prisoners, some of whom were already 
condemned. I formed a favorable judgment of them all, 
for it seemed to me they must have either great confidence 
in their own innocence, or scruples as to compromising the 
few soldiers who acted as guards. In no other way could 
I explain the fact that they remained in prison, when 
flight seemed so easy." I well remember one evening 
when walking in Teffe seeing a number of men leaning 
against the wooden grating of a dimly lighted room in 
a ruinous thatched house, and being told that this was 
the prison. I asked myself the same question which pre- 
sented itself to the President's mind, — why these wild- 
looking, half-naked creatures had not long ago made their 
escape from a prison whose bars and bolts would hardly 
have imposed restraint upon a child. The report con- 
tinues : "A more decent and, above all, a more secure 
prison at this point, the most important in the whole 
Solimoens, is an urgent and even indispensable necessity. 
Of the sixteen prisons in the whole province, only two, 
that of the capital and of Barcellos, have their own build- 
ings. With these exceptions, the prisoners occupy either 
a part of the houses of the legislative chambers, or are 
placed in private houses hired for the purpose, or in the 
quarters of the military detachments. In these different 
prisons 538 prisoners were received during the current 
year, inclusive of recruits and deserters." This last 
clause, " inclusive of recruits and deserters," and the 
association of the two classes of men together, as if 
equally delinquent, touches upon a point hardly to be 
overlooked by the most superficial observer, and which 
makes a very painful impression on strangers. The sys- 
13 s 



290 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



tern of recruiting, or rather the utter want of system, 
leads to the most terrible abuse of authority in raising 
men for the army. I believe that the law provides for a 
constitutional draft levied equally on all classes, excluding 
men below or above a certain age, or having certain respon- 
sibilities at home. But if such a law exists it is certainly 
not enforced ; recruiting parties, as bad as the old " press- 
gangs " of England, go out into the forest and seize the 
Indians wherever they can find them. All who resist this 
summary treatment or show any inclination to escape are 
put into prison till the steamer leaves, by which they are 
despatched to Para and thence to the army. The only 
overcrowded room I saw at the prison was that where 
the recruits were confined. Coming from a country where 
the soldier is honored, where men of birth and education 
have shown that they are not ashamed to serve in the line 
if necessary, it seemed to me strange and sad to see these 
men herded with common criminals. The record of the 
province of the Amazonas will read well in the history 
of the present war, for the number of troops contributed 
is very large in proportion to the population. But as 
most of them are obtained in this way, it may be doubted 
whether the result is a very strong evidence of patriotism. 
The abuses mentioned above are not, however, confined to 
these remote regions.* It is not uncommon, even in the 

* Much of what follows upon social abuses, tyranny of the local police, 
prison discipline, &c, though not quoted in his own words, has been gathered 
from conversations with Mr. Agassiz, or from discussions between him and his 
Brazilian friends. The way in which this volume has grown up, being as it 
were the result of a double experience, makes it occasionally difficult to draw 
the exact line marking the boundaries of authorship ; the division being 
indeed somewhat vague in the minds of the writers themselves. But since 
criticisms of this sort would have little value, except as based upon larger 
opportunities for observation than fell to my share, I am the more anxious 
to refer them, wherever I can, to their right source. 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



291 



more populous and central parts of Brazil, to meet recruits 
on the road, so-called volunteers, chained two and two by 
the neck like criminals, under an armed guard. When we 
first met a squad of men under these circumstances, on 
the Juiz de Fora road, we supposed them to be deserters, 
but the Brazilians who were with us, and who seemed 
deeply mortified at the circumstance, said that they were 
no doubt ordinary recruits, arrested without inquiry on the 
one side, or power of resistance on the other. They as- 
serted that this mode of recruiting was illegal, but that 
their chains would be taken off before entering the city, 
and no questions asked. A Brazilian told me that he had 
known an instance in which a personal pique against an 
enemy had been gratified by pointing out its object to the 
recruiting officer, who had the man at once enlisted, though 
a large family was entirely dependent upon him. Our 
informant seemed to know no redress for tyranny like 
this. 

The hospitality we have received in Brazil, the sympathy 
shown to Mr. Agassiz in his scientific undertakings, as well 
as our own sentiments of gratitude and affection for our 
many friends here, forbid us to enter into any criticism of 
Brazilian manners or habits which could have a personal 
application. Neither do I believe that a few months' resi- 
dence in a country entitles any one to a judgment upon 
the national character of its people. Yet there are certain 
features of Brazilian institutions and politics which cannot 
but strike a stranger unfavorably, and which explain the 
complaints one constantly hears from foreign residents. 
The exceedingly liberal constitution, borrowed in great 
part from our own, prepares one to expect the largest 
practical liberty. To a degree this exists ; there is no 



292 



* A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



censorship of the press ; there is no constraint upon the 
exercise of any man's religion ; nominally, there is abso- 
lute freedom of thought and belief. But in the practical 
working of the laws there is a very arbitrary element, and a 
petty tyranny of the police against which there seems to be 
no appeal. There is, in short, an utter want of harmony 
between the institutions and the actual condition of the 
people. May it not be, that a borrowed constitution, in 
no way the growth of the soil, is, after all, like an ill- 
fitting garment, not made for the wearer, and hanging 
loosely upon him ? There can be no organic relation be- 
tween a truly liberal form of government and a people for 
whom, taking them as a whole, little or no education is 
provided, whose religion is administered by a corrupt clergy, 
and who, whether white or black, are brought up under 
the influence of slavery. Liberty will not abide in the 
laws alone ; it must have its life in the' desire of the 
nation, its strength in her resolve to have and to hold it. 
Another feature which makes a painful impression on the 
stranger is the enfeebled character of the population. I 
have spoken of this before, but in the northern provinces 
it is more evident than farther south. It is not merely 
that the children are of every hue ; the variety of color 
in every society where slavery prevails tells the same story 
of amalgamation of race ; but here this mixture of races 
seems to have had a much more unfavorable influence on 
the physical development than in the United States. It 
is as if all clearness of type had been blurred, and the re- 
sult is a vague compound lacking character and expres- 
sion. This hybrid class, although more marked here be- 
cause the Indian element is added, is very numerous in 
all the cities and on the large plantations ; perhaps the 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



293 



fact, so honorable to Brazil, that the free negro has full 
access to all the privileges of any free citizen, rather tends 
to increase than diminish the number.* 

December 3d. — Yesterday was the Emperor's birthday, 
always kept as a holiday throughout Brazil, and this year 
with more enthusiasm than usual, because he has just 
returned from the army, and has made himself doubly 
dear to his people, not only by the success which attend- 
ed his presence there, but by his humanity toward the 
soldiers. "We had our illuminations, bouquets, music, &c, 
as well as the rest of the world ; but as Manaos is not 
overflowing with wealth, the candles were rather few, 
and there were long lapses of darkness alternating with 
the occasional brilliancy. We went out in the evening 
to make a few calls, and listen to the music in the open 
ground dignified by the name of the public square. Here 
all the surrounding buildings were brightly illuminated ; 
there was a very pretty tent in the centre, where the band 
of Indian children from the Casa dos Educandos was play- 
ing ; preparations were making for the ascension of a 

* Let any one who doubts the evil of this mixture of races, and is inclined, 
from a mistaken philanthropy, to break down all barriers between them, come 
to Brazil. He cannot deny the deterioration consequent upon an amalgama- 
tion of races, m&re widespread here than in any other country in the world, 
and which is rapidly effacing the best qualities of the white man, the negro, and 
the Indian, leaving a mongrel nondescript type, deficient in physical and mental 
energy. At a time when the new social status of the negro is a subject of vital 
importance in our statesmanship, we should profit by the experience of a coun- 
try where, though slavery exists, there is far more liberality toward the free 
negro than he has ever enjoyed in the United States. Let us learn the double 
lesson : open all the advantages of education to the negro, and give him 
every chance of success which culture gives to the man who knows how to 
use it ; but respect the laws of nature, and let all our dealings with the black 
man tend to preserve, as far as possible, the distinctness of his national charac- 
teristics, and the integrity of our own. — L. A. 



294 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



lighted balloon at a later hour, and so on. But whenever 
we have been present at public festivities in Brazil, — and 
our observation is confirmed by other foreigners, — we have 
been struck with the want of gayety, the absence of merri- 
ment. There is a kind of lack-lustre character in their 
fetes, so far as any demonstration of enjoyment is con- 
cerned. Perhaps it is owing to their enervating climate, 
but the Brazilians do not seem to work or play with a 
will. They have not the activity which, while it makes 
life a restless fever with our people, gives it interest also ; 
neither have they the love of amusement of the continental 
Europeans. 

December 6th. — Manaos. Mr. Thayer returned to-day 
from Lake Alexo, bringing a valuable collection of fish, 
obtained with some difficulty on account of the height of 
water ; it is rapidly rising now, and the fish are in conse- 
quence daily scattered over a wider space. This addition 
with the collections brought in by Mr. Bourget and Mr. 
Thayer from Cudajas, by Mr. James from Manacapuru, 
and by Major Coutinho from Lake Hyanuary, Jose-Fer- 
nandez, Curupira, &c, &c, brings the number of Ama- 
zonian species up to something over thirteen hundred. 
Mr. Agassiz still carries out his plan of dispersing his work- 
ing force in such a manner as to determine the limits of the 
distribution of species ; to ascertain, for instance, whether 
those which are in the Amazons at one season may be in 
the Solimoens at another or at the same time, and also 
whether those which are found about Manaos extend higher 
up in the Rio Negro. For this reason, as we have seen, 
while at Teffe' himself he kept parties above in various locali- 
ties, — at Tabatinga and on the rivers lea and Hyutahy ; 
and now, while he and some of his assistants are collecting 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBOEHOOD. 



295 



in the immediate neighborhood of Manaos, Mr. Dexter 
and Mr. Talisman are on the Rio Negro and Rio Branco. 
Following the same plan in descending the river, he intends 
to establish one station at Serpa, another at Obydos, an- 
other at Santarem, while he will go himself to the river 
Mauhes, which connects the Amazons with the Madeira. 

December 10th. — To-day Mr. Dexter and Mr. Talisman 
returned from their canoe excursion to the Rio Branco. 
They are rather disappointed in the result of their expe- 
dition, having found the state of the waters most extraordi- 
nary for the season and very unfavorable for their purpose. 
The Rio Negro was so full that the beaches had entirely 
disappeared, and it was impossible to draw the nets ; while 
on the Rio Branco the people stated that the water had 
not fallen during the whole year, — an unheard-of phe- 
nomenon, and unfortunate for the inhabitants, who were 
dreading famine for want of their usual supply of dried 
and salted fish, on which they so largely depend for food. 
This provision is always made when the waters are lowest, 
and when the large fish, driven into shallower and narrower 
basins, are easily caught. Though their collection of fish 
is therefore small, including only twenty-eight new species, 
Mr. Dexter and Mr. Talisman bring several monkeys, a very 
large alligator, some beautiful birds, among them the blue 
Mackaw, and a number of very fine palms. To-morrow we 
leave Manaos in the Ibicuhy, on an excursion to the little 
town of Mauhes, where we are to pass a week or ten days. 
Though we return for a day or two on our way to the Rio 
Negro, yet we feel that our permanent stay in Manaos is 
over. The six weeks we have passed here have been very 
valuable in scientific results. Not only has Mr. Agassiz 
largely increased his knowledge of the fishes, but he has had 



296 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



an opportunity of accumulating a mass of new and interest- 
ing information on the many varieties of the colored races, 
produced by the crossing of Indians, negroes, and whites, 
which he has recorded not only in notes, but in a very com- 
plete series of photographs. Perhaps nowhere in the world 
can the blending of types among men be studied so fully 
as in the Amazons, where mamelucos, cafuzos, mulattoes, 
cabocos, negroes, and whites are mingled in a confusion that 
seems at first inextricable. I insert below a few extracts 
from his notes on this subject, which he purposes to treat 
more in detail, should he find time hereafter to work up 
the abundant material he has collected. 

" However naturalists may differ respecting the origin of 
species, there is at least one point on which they agree, 
namely, that the offspring from two so-called different 
species is a being intermediate between them, sharing the 
peculiar features of both parents, but resembling neither so 
closely as to be mistaken for a pure representative of the 
one or the other. I hold this fact to be of the utmost 
importance in estimating the value and meaning of the 
differences observed between the so-called human races. 
I leave aside the question of their probable origin, and 
even that of their number ; for my purpose, it does not 
matter whether there are three, four, five, or twenty 
human races, and whether they originated independently 
from one another or not. The fact that they differ by 
constant permanent features is in itself sufficient to justify a 
comparison between the human races and animal species. 
We know that, among animals, when two individuals of 
different sex and belonging to distinct species produce an 
offspring, the latter does not closely resemble either parent, 
but shares the characteristics of both ; and it seems to 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 297 

me of the highest significance that this fact is equally- 
true of any two individuals of different sexes, belonging 
to different human races. The child born of negro and 
white parents is neither black nor white, but a mulatto ; 
the child born of white and Indian parents is neither 
white nor Indian, but a mameluco ; the child born of 
negro and Indian parents is neither a negro nor an In- 
dian, but a cafuzo ; and the cafuzo, mameluco, and mulatto 
share the peculiarities of both parents, just as the mule 
shares the characteristics of the horse and ass. With 
reference to their offspring, the races of men stand, then, 
to one another in the same relation as different species 
among animals ; and the word races, in its present signi- 
ficance, needs only to be retained till the number of human 
species is definitely ascertained and their true characteristics 
fully understood. I am satisfied that, unless it can be shown 
that the differences between the Indian, negro, and white 
races are unstable and transient, it is not in keeping with 
the facts to affirm a community of origin for all the va- 
rieties of the human family, nor in keeping with scientific 
principles to make a difference between human races and 
animal species in a systematic point of view. In these 
various forms of humanity there is as much system as in 
anything else in nature, and by overlooking the thoughtful 
combinations expressed in them we place ourselves at once 
outside of the focus from which the whole may be correctly 
seen. In consequence of their constancy, these differences 
are so many limitations to prevent a complete melting of 
normal types into each other and consequent loss of their 
primitive features. That these different types are geneti- 
cally foreign to one another, and do not run together by 
imperceptible, intermediate degrees, appears plain when 

13* 



298 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



their mixtures are compared. "White and negro produce 
mulattoes, white and Indian produce mamelucos, negro and 
Indian produce cafuzos, and these three kinds of half- 
breeds are not connecting links between the pure races, 
but stand exactly in that relation to them in which all 
hybrids stand to their parents. The mameluco is as truly 
a half-breed between white and Indian, the cafuzo as truly 
a half-breed between negro and Indian, as is the mulatto, 
commonly so called, a half-breed between white and negro. 
They all share equally the peculiarities of both parents, 
and though more fertile than half-breeds in other families 
of the animal kingdom, there is in all a constant ten- 
dency to revert to the primary types in a country where 
three distinct races are constantly commingling, for they 
mix much more readily with the original stocks than with 
each other.* Children between mameluco and mameluco, 
or between cafuzo and cafuzo, or between mulatto and 
mulatto, are seldom met with where the pure races occur ; 
while offspring of mulattoes with whites, Indians and ne- 
groes, or of mamelucos with whites, Indians, and negroes, 
or of cafuzos with whites, Indians, and negroes, form the 
bulk of these mixed populations. The natural result 
of an uninterrupted contact of half-breeds with one an-' 
other is a class of men in which pure type fades away 
as completely as do all the good qualities, physical and 
moral, of the primitive races, engendering a mongrel 
crowd as repulsive as the mongrel dogs, which are apt 
to be their companions, and among which it is impossible 
to pick out a single specimen retaining the intelligence, 
the nobility, or the affectionateness of nature which makes 

* For some remarks concerning the structural peculiarities of the Indians 
and Negroes, see Appendix No. V. 



MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 



299 



the dog of pure type the favorite companion of civilized 
man. The question respecting the relation of the human 
races to each other is complicated by the want of precision 
in the definition of species. Naturalists differ greatly in 
their estimation of the characters by which species are to 
be distinguished, and of their natural limitations. I have 
published elsewhere my own views on this subject. I 
believe the boundaries of species to be precise and un- 
varying, based upon a category of characters quite distinct 
from those on which the other groups of the animal king- 
dom, as genera, families, orders, and classes, are founded. 
This category of characters consists chiefly in the relation 
of individuals to one another and to their surroundings, 
and in the relative dimensions and proportions of parts. 
These characters are no less permanent and constant in 
the different species of the human family than in those 
of any other family in the animal kingdom, and my ob- 
servations upon the cross-breeds in South America have 
convinced me that the varieties arising from contact be- 
tween these human species, or so-called races, differ from 
true species just as cross-breeds among animals differ from 
true species, and that they retain the same liability to 
revert to the original stock as is observed among all so- 
called varieties or breeds." 

Our visit to Mauhes will be the pleasanter and doubtless 
the more successful, because Dr. Epaminondas, who has 
already done so much to facilitate the objects of the ex- 
pedition, takes this opportunity of visiting a region with 
which, as President of the province, he is desirous of be- 
coming acquainted. He is accompanied by our host, Mr. 
Honorio, whose house has been such a pleasant home for 
us during our stay in Manaos, and also by Mr. Michelis, 



300 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Lieutenant-Colonel of the National Guard of Mauhes, re- 
turning to his home there, after a stay of several weeks 
in Manaos. Besides these, our party consists of Major 
Coutinho, Mr. Burkhardt, and ourselves. The position of 
Mauhes, on the southern side of the Amazons, and its 
proximity to Manaos and Serpa, may make this excursion 
especially instructive, with reference to the study of the 
geographical distribution of the Fishes in the great net- 
work of rivers connecting the Rio Madeira and the Rio 
Tapajoz with the Amazons. 



EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 301 



CHAPTER X. 

EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Leave Manaos. — Ox board the " Ibicuhy." — Navigation of the River 
Ramos. — Aspect of the Banks. — Arrival at Mauhes. — Situation of 
mauhes. — tupinambaranas. — character of population. — appear- 
ANCE of the Villages of Mauhes. — Bolivian Indians — Guarana. — 
Excursion to Mucaja-Tuba. — Mundurucu Indians. — Aspect of Village. 

— Church. — Distribution of Presents. — Generosity of the Indians. 

— Their Indifference. — Visit to another Settlement. — Return to 
Mauhes. — Arrival of Mundurucus in the Village. — Description of 
Tattooing. — Collection. — Boto. — Indian Superstitions. — Palm Col- 
lection. — Walk in the Forest. — Leave Mauhes. — Mundurucu Indian 
and his Wife. — Their Manners and Appearance. — Indian Tradition. 

— Distinctions of Caste. 

December 12th. — We left Manaos, according to our in- 
tention, on Sunday evening (the 10th), raising the anchor 
with military exactness at five o'clock, the very moment 
appointed, somewhat to the disappointment of a boatful 
of officials from the National Guard, who were just on 
their way to pay their parting compliments to the Presi- 
dent, at the hour fixed for his departure. In Brazil it 
may safely be assumed that things will always be a little 
behind time ; on this occasion, however, our punctuality 
was absolute, and the officers were forced to wave their 
adieux as we proceeded on our way, leaving their canoe 
behind. The hour was of good omen, — a cool breeze, the 
one blessing for which the traveller sighs in these latitudes, 
blowing up the Amazons ; and as we left the Rio Negro, 
it lay behind us, a golden pathway to the setting sun, which 
was going down in a blaze of glory. We were received on 
board with all possible hospitality by the commander, Cap- 



302 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



tain Faria. He has made every arrangement for our com- 
fort which a vessel of war, not intended for passengers, can 
afford, giving up his own quarters for my accommodation. 
On deck he has arranged a little recess, sheltered by a tar- 
pauling from the sun and rain, to serve as a dining-room, 
that we may take our meals in the fresh air instead of 
dining in the close cabin below decks intended for this 
purpose. 

The morning following our departure was an interesting 
one, because we found ourselves at the mouth of the Ramos, 
unknown to steam navigation, and about which the Captain 
had some apprehensions, as he was by no means sure that 
he should find water enough for his vessel. It was, there- 
fore, necessary to proceed with great caution, sounding at 
every step and sending out boats in advance, to ascertain 
the direction of the channel. Once within the river, we 
had depth of water enough to float much larger vessels. 
The banks of this stream are beautiful. The forest was 
gay with color, and the air laden with the rich perfume 
of flowers, which, when we came up the Amazons six 
months ago, were not yet in bloom. We were struck also 
with the great abundance and variety of the palms, so 
much more numerous on the lower course of the Amazons 
than on the Solimoens. The shores were dotted with 
thrifty-looking plantations, laid out with a neatness and 
care which bespeak greater attention to agriculture than we 
have seen elsewhere. Healthy-looking cattle were grazing 
about many of the sitios. As the puff of our steam was 
heard, the inhabitants ran out to gaze in amazement at 
the unwonted visitant, standing in groups on the shores, 
almost too much lost in wonder to return our greetings. 
The advent of a steamer in their waters should be to them 



' EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 303 

a welcome harbinger of the time, perhaps not far distant, 
when, instead of their present tedious and uncertain canoe 
journeys to Serpa or Villa Bella, they will be able to 
transport their produce to either of these points in a 
few hours, in small steamboats, connecting all these set- 
tlements, and adapted to the navigation. Any such pro- 
phetic vision was, however, no doubt very far from their 
thoughts ; if they had any idea as to the object of our 
coming, it was probably a fear lest we should be on a 
recruiting expedition. If so, it is certainly a very inno- 
cent one, fishes being the only recruits we aim at en- 
trapping. From the Ramos we turned into the Mauhes, 
ascending to the town of the same name, where to-day 
we are enjoying the hospitality of Mr. Michelis. 

If any of my readers are as ignorant as I was myself 
before making this voyage, a bit of geography may not 
be out of place here. As everybody knows, the river 
Madeira, that great affluent of the Amazons, all whose 
children are giants, except when compared with their royal 
father, enters the main stream on its southern side at a 
point nearly opposite Serpa. But this is not its only con- 
nection with the Amazons. The river Mauhes starting 
about twenty-five leagues from its mouth, runs from the 
river Madeira almost parallel with the Amazons until it 
joins the river Ramos, which continues its course in the 
same direction to a lower point, where it empties into the 
main stream. The district of land thus enclosed between 
four rivers, having the Madeira on the west, the Amazons 
on the north, and the Ramos and the Mauhes on the south, 
is known on the map as the island of Tupinambaranas. 
It is a network of rivers, lakes, and islands ; one of those 
watery labyrinths which would be in itself an extensive 



304 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



river system in any other country, but is here absolutely 
lost in the world of waters of which it forms a part. In- 
deed, the vastness of the Amazons is not felt chiefly when 
following its main course, but rather on its lesser tribu- 
taries, where streams to which a place on the map is 
hardly accorded are found to be in fact large rivers. 

The region of Mauhes is comparatively little known, be- 
cause it is off the line of steam navigation ; but, thanks 
•to the efforts of its most prominent citizen, Mr. Michelis, 
who has made his home there for twenty-five years, and 
contributed, by his energy, intelligence, and honorable 
character, to raise the tone of the whole district, it is one of 
the most prosperous in the province. It is melancholy to 
see how little is done in other districts, when an instance 
like this shows what one man can do to improve the forest 
population along the banks of the Amazons. His example 
and its successful results should be an encouragement to all 
intelligent settlers on the Amazons. The little village of 
Mauhes stands on a sort of terrace, in front of which, at 
this season when the waters are still considerably below 
high-water mark, runs a broad, white beach, rendered all 
the prettier at the moment of our arrival by a large party 
of Bolivian Indians, who had built their camp-fires on its 
sands. We looked at these people with a kind of wonder, 
thinking of the perilous voyages they constantly make in 
their heavily-laden canoes, forced to unload their cargo 
over and over again as they shoot the cataracts of the 
Madeira on their way down, or drag their boats wearily 
up them on their return. It seems strange, when this 
river is the highway of commerce from Bolivia, Matto- 
Grosso, and through Matto-Grosso from Paraguay to the 
Amazons, that the suggestion made by Major Coutinho 



EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 305 



in his interesting account of bis journey on the Rio Ma- 
deira, has not been adopted. He says that a road carried 
along the shore of the river for a distance of forty leagues 
would obviate all the difficulty and danger of this ardu- 
ous journey. 

Mauhes is not a cluster of houses, but is built in line 
along a broad, grass-grown street running the length of 
the terrace formed by the top of the river-bank. In an 
open space, at one end of this village street, stands the 
church, a small but neat-looking building, with a wooden 
cross in front. Most of the houses are low and straw- 
thatched, but here and there a more substantial house, 
with tiled roof, like that of Mr. Michelis, breaks the 
ordinary level of the buildings. Notwithstanding the mod- 
est appearance of this little town, all who know some- 
thing of its history speak of it as one of the most prom- 
ising of the Amazonian settlements, and as having a 
better moral tone than usually prevails. One of its great 
staples is the Guarana. This shrub, or rather vine, — 
for it is a trailing plant somewhat like our high-bush 
blackberry, — is about eight feet high when full grown, 
and bears a bean the size of a coffee-bean, two being en- 
closed in each envelope. This bean, after being roasted, 
is pounded in a small quantity of water, until it becomes, 
when thoroughly ground, a compact paste, and when dry 
is about the color of chocolate, though much harder. 
In this state it is grated, (the grater being always the 
rough tongue of the Pirarucu,) and when mixed with 
sugar and water it makes a very pleasant, refreshing 
drink. It is said to have medicinal properties also, and 
is administered with excellent effect in cases of diarrhoea. 
In certain parts of Brazil it is very extensively used as 



306 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



well as in Bolivia, and will, no doubt, have a wider dis- 
tribution when its value is more generally known. The 
Indians display no little fancy in the manufacture of this 
article, moulding the paste into the shape of mounted 
soldiers, horses, birds, serpents, &c. 

This morning I was attracted by voices in the street, 
and going to the window I saw the door of the house 
where the President is lodged besieged by a crowd of 
Bolivian Indians. They had brought some of their robes 
to sell, and it was not long before several of our party, 
among whom were ready purchasers, made their appear- 
ance in Bolivian costume. This dress is invariable ; al- 
ways the long robe, composed of two pieces, one hang- 
ing before, the other behind, belted around the waist and 
fastened on the shoulders, with an opening for the head to 
pass through. Such a robe, with a broad-brimmed, coarse 
straw hat, constitutes the whole dress of these people. 
Their ordinary working garb is made of bark ; their better 
robe, for more festive occasions, consists of a twilled cot- 
ton of their own manufacture, exceedingly soft and fine, 
but very close and strong. These dresses may be more 
or less ornamented, but are always of the same shape. 
The Bolivian Indians seem to be more industrious than 
those of the Amazons, or else they are under more rigor- 
ous discipline. 

December lith. — At the settlement of Mucaja-Tuba. 
Mucaja signifies a particular kind of palm, very abun- 
dant here ; Tuba means a place. Thus we are among the 
woods of Acrocomia. Yesterday we were to have left 
Mauhes with the dawn on an excursion to this place, but 
at the appointed hour a flood of rain, such as is seen only 
in these latitudes, was pouring down in torrents, accom- 



EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 307 



panied by thunder and lightning. The delay occasioned by 
this interruption, however, proved a good fortune in the end. 
By eleven o'clock the storm was over, but the sky contin- 
i_od overcast during the rest of the day. Our way lay up 
the river Mauhes, past the mouths of nameless streams 
and lakes, — broad sheets of water, perfectly unknown out 
of their immediate neighborhood. Night brought us to our 
destination, and at about eight o'clock we anchored before 
this little village. As we approached it a light or two was 
seen glimmering on the shore, and we could not help again 
wondering what was the feeling of the people who saw and 
heard for the first time one of these puffing steam monsters. 
This morning, with a boat-load of goods of all sorts, in- 
tended by the President as presents for the Indians, we 
put off for the shore. Landing on the beach we went 
at once to the house of the chief, a most respectable look- 
ing old man, who stood at the door to receive us. He 
was an old acquaintance of Major Coutinho, having for- 
merly accompanied him on his exploration of the Rio 
Madeira. The inhabitants of this village are Mundurucu 
Indians, one of the most intelligent and kindly disposed 
of the Amazonian tribes. Although they are too civil- 
ized to be considered as illustrating in any way the wild 
life of the primitive Indians, yet, as it is the first time we 
have seen one of their isolated settlements, removed from 
every civilizing influence except the occasional contact of 
the white man, the visit was especially interesting to us. 
It is astonishing to see the size and solidity of their houses, 
with never a nail driven, the frame consisting of rough 
trunks bound together by withes made of long, elastic sipos, 
the cordage of the forest. Major Coutinho tells us that 
they know very well the use of nails in building, and say 



308 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



to one another derisively, when they want another sipo, 
" Hand me a nail." The ridge-pole of this chief's house 
could not have been less than twenty-five to thirty-eight feet 
high, and the room was spacious in proportion. Hammocks 
were hung in the corners, one of which was partitioned off 
by a low wall of palm-thatch ; bows and arrows, guns and 
oars, hung on the walls or were leaning against them, and 
adjoining this central apartment was the mandioca kitchen. 
There were a number of doors and windows in the room, 
closed by large palm-mats. The house of the chief stood 
at the head of a line of houses differing from his only in 
being somewhat smaller ; they made one side of an open 
square, on the opposite side of which was a corresponding 
row of buildings. With a few exceptions these houses 
were empty, for the population gather only three or four 
times in the course of the year, at certain festival seasons. 
Generally they are scattered about in their different sitios, 
attending to their plantations. But at these fetes they 
assemble to the number of several hundred, all the dwell 
ings are crowded with families, and the square in the centre 
is cleared of grass, swept and garnished for their evening 
dances. Such festivities last for ten days or a fortnight ; 
then they all disperse to their working life again. At 
this time there are not more than thirty or forty persons 
in the village. The most interesting object we saw was 
their church, which stands at the head of the square, 
and was built entirely by the Indians themselves. It is 
quite a large structure, capable of holding an assembly 
of five or six hundred persons. The walls are of mud, 
very neatly finished inside, and painted in colors made 
by the Indians from the bark, roots, and fruits of certain 
trees, and also from a particular kind of clay. The front 



EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 309 



part of the church is wholly unfurnished, except for the 
rough wooden font standing just within the door. But 
the farther end is partitioned off to make a neat chancel, 
within which several steps lead up to the altar and niche 
above, where is placed the rude image of the Mother and 
the Child. Of course the architecture and the ornaments 
are of the coarsest description ; the painting consists only 
of stripes or lines of blue, red, and yellow, with here and 
there an attempt at a star or a diamond, or a row of 
scalloping ; but there is something touching in the idea 
that these poor, uneducated people of the forest have 
cared to build themselves a temple with their own hands, 
lavishing upon it such ideas of beauty and taste as they 
have, and bringing at least their best to their humble 
altar. None of our city churches, on which millions have 
been expended, have power to move one like this church, 
the loving work of the worshippers themselves, with its 
mud walls so coarsely painted, its wooden cross before the 
door, and little thatched belfry at one side. It is sad 
that these people, with so much religious sensibility, are 
not provided with any regular service. At long intervals 
a priest, on his round of visitations, makes his way to 
them, but, except on such rare occasions, they have no 
one to administer the rites of burial or baptism, or to 
give religious instruction to them or to their children. 
And yet their church was faultlessly clean, the mud floor 
was strewn with fresh green leaves, and everything about 
the building showed it to be the object of solicitude and 
care. Their houses were very neat, and they themselves 
were decently dressed in the invariable costume of the civ- 
ilized Indian, — the men in trousers and white cotton shirts, 
the women in calico petticoats, with short, loose chemises, 



310 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



either of cotton or calico, and their long, thick black hair 
drawn up and fastened on the top of their head by a semi- 
circular comb, brought so far forward that the edge is about 
on a line with the forehead. A bunch of flowers is general- 
ly stuck under the comb on one side. I have never seen 
an Indian woman who did not wear one of these round 
combs ; although of foreign manufacture, they find their 
way to the most isolated forest settlements, brought, I 
suppose, by the travelling pedlers, " regatao." These 
gentry are known everywhere on the banks of the Am- 
azons and its tributaries, and are said to be most un- 
principled in their dealings with the Indians, who fall 
readily into the traps set for them by the wily traders. 
In one of the reports of Dr. Adolfo, who, during his 
short but able administration, exposed, and as far as it 
was in his power reformed, abuses in the province of 
the Amazonas, he says, after speaking of the great need 
of religious instruction in the more remote settlements : 
" To-day who goes to seek the Indian in the depth of 
his virgin forests along the shores of these endless rivers ? 
No one, if it be not the ' regatao,' less barbarous certain- 
ly than he, but much more corrupt ; who spies upon him, 
depraves and dishonors him, under the pretext of trading." 
After our visit to the church, the whole population, men, 
women, and children, accompanied us down to the beach 
to receive their presents, distributed by the President in 
person : common jewelry, which they appreciate highly, 
calico dresses, beads, scissors, needles, and looking-glasses 
for the women ; knives, fish-hooks, hatchets, and other 
working tools for the men ; and a variety of little trin- 
kets and playthings for the children. But though a cor- 
dial, kindly people, they have the impassiveness of the 



EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 311 



genuine Indian. I did not see a change of expression on 
any face or hear a word of acknowledgment or pleasure. 
The only smile was when, being tired with standing in the 
sun, I sat down among the women, and, as the things were 
passed rapidly around the circle, I was taken for one of 
them, and received a very gay gown for my share. This 
caused a general shout of laughter, and seemed to delight 
them greatly. We returned to the steamer to breakfast 
at ten o'clock, and in the afternoon the whole village came 
out to satisfy their curiosity about the vessel. They are 
a generous people. I never go among them without re- 
ceiving some little present, which it would be an insult 
to refuse. Such as they have they offer to the stranger ; 
it may be a fruit, or a few eggs, or a chicken, a cuia, 
a basket or a bunch of flowers, but their feelings would 
be wounded were you to go away empty-handed. On 
this occasion the daughter of the chief brought me a 
fine fat fowl, another woman gave me a basket, and an- 
other a fruit which resembles very much our winter 
squash, and is used in the same way. I was glad to 
have with me some large beads and a few little pictures 
of saints with which to acknowledge their gifts. But I 
believe they do not think of any return ; it is simply a 
rite of hospitality with them to make their guest a 
present. They went over the vessel, heard the cannon 
fired off, and, as the captain took them on a little ex- 
cursion, they saw the machine and the wheels in action ; 
but they looked at all with the same calm, quiet air of 
acceptance, above, or perhaps one should rather say below, 
any emotion of surprise. For is not the readiness to re- 
ceive new impressions, to be surprised, delighted, moved, 
one of the great gifts of the white race, as different from 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



the impassiveness of the Indian as their varying complexion 
from the dark skin, which knows neither blush nor pallor ? 
We could have but little conversation with these people, 
for, with the exception of the chief and one or two men 
who acted as interpreters, they spoke only the " lingua 
geral," and did not understand Portuguese. 

December loth. — After the Indians had left us yesterday, 
we proceeded on our way to another settlement, where we 
expected to find a considerable village. We arrived after 
dark, and some of the party went on shore ; but they found 
only a grass-grown path and deserted houses. The whole 
population was in the forest. To-day, however, two or 
three canoesful of people have come off to the steamer 
to greet the President and receive their presents. Among 
them was an old woman who must have come originally 
from some more primitive settlement. The lower part 
of her face was tattooed in a bluish-black tint, covering 
the mouth and lower part of the cheeks to the base of 
the ears. Below this the chin was tattooed in a kind of 
network, no doubt considered very graceful and becoming 
in her day and generation. A black line was drawn across 
the nose, and from the outer corner of the eyes to the 
ears, giving the effect of a pair of spectacles. The upper 
part of the breast was tattooed in an open-work, headed 
by two straight lines drawn around the shoulders as if 
to represent a coarse lace finish, such as one constantly 
sees around the necks of their chemises. They left us at 
breakfast, and we are now on our way back to Mauhes, 
after a most interesting excursion. 

December lQth. — Mauhes. We arrived here yesterday 
at midday, and, as it happened, we found in the village 
an Indian and his wife, who, as specimens of the genuine 



EXCUESION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 313 

Mundurucus, were more interesting than those we had 
visited. They came on trading business from a distant set- 
tlement some twenty days' journey from Mauhes. The 




Mundurucu Indian (Male).* 



man's whole face is tattooed in bluish black, this sin- 
gular mask being finished on the edge by a fine, open 
pattern, about half an inch broad, running around the 

* I did not succeed in getting good likenesses of this Mundurucu pair. The 
above wood-cuts do no justice to their features and expression, though they 
give a faithful record of the peculiar mode of tattooing. — L. A. 
14 



314 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



jaws and chin. His ears are pierced with very large 
holes, from which, when his costume is complete, pieces 
of wood are suspended, and his whole body is covered 
with a neat and intricate network of tattooing. At pres- 
ent, however, being in civilized regions, he is dressed in 




Mundurucu Indian (Female). 



trousers and shirt. In the woman the mask of tattooing 
covers only the lowest part of the face, the upper part 
being free, with the exception of the line across the nose 
and eyes. Her chin and neck are also ornamented like 



EXCUKSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 315 



that of the old woman we saw yesterday. They speak 
no Portuguese, and seem rather reluctant to answer the 
questions of the interpreter. 

Mr. Agassiz lias been very fortunate in collecting in this 
region. Although we are at so short a distance from 
Manaos, where he already knows the fishes tolerably well, 
he finds a surprising number of new genera and species 
about Mauhes and its neighborhood. As usual, wherever 
we go, everybody turns naturalist in his behalf. Our 
kind friend, the President, always ready to do everything 
in his power to facilitate his researches, has several boats 
out, manned by the best fishermen of the place, fishing for 
him. The commander, while his ship lies at anchor, has 
his men employed in the same way ; and Mr. Michelis and 
his friends are also indefatigable. Occasionally, however, 
in the midst of his successes, he has to bear disappointments, 
arising from the ignorance and superstition of the working 
people. Ever since he came to the Amazons he has been 
trying to obtain a specimen of a peculiar kind of porpoise, 
native to these waters. It is, however, very difficult to 
obtain, because, being useless for food, there is nothing to 
induce the Indian to overcome the difficulty of catching it. 
Mr. Michelis has, however, impressed upon the fishermen 
the value of the prize, and, yesterday evening, just as we 
were rising from the dinner-table, it was announced that 
one was actually on its way up from the beach. Followed 
by the whole party of sympathizing friends, — for all had 
caught the infection, — Mr. Agassiz hastened out to behold 
his long-desired treasure ; and there was his Boto, but 
sadly mutilated, for one Indian had cut off a piece of the 
fin as a cure for a sick person, another had taken out an 
eye as a love-charm, which, if it could be placed near the 



316 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



person of the girl he loved, would win him. her favor, 
and so on. Injured as it was, Mr. Agassiz was, neverthe- 
less, very glad to have the specimen ; but he locked it up 
carefully for the night, not knowing what other titbits 
might be coveted by the superstitious inhabitants. 

December 18th. — In the midst of the zoological work, 
the collection of palms, which is now becoming very con- 
siderable, is not forgotten. This morning we went into 
the forest for the purpose of gathering young palms'* to 
compare with the full-grown ones, already cut down and 
put up for transportation. In these woods a thousand ob- 
jects attract the eye, beside that which you especially 
seek. How many times we stopped to wonder at some 
lofty tree which was a world of various vegetation in 
itself, parasites established in all its nooks and corners, 
sipos hanging from its branches or twining themselves so 
close against the bark that they often seem as if sculptured 
on its trunk ; or paused to listen to the quick rustle of 
the wind in palm-leaves fifty feet above our heads, not at 
all like the slow, gathering rush of the wind in pine-trees 
at home, but like rapidly running water. Through the 
narrow path an immense butterfly, of that vivid blue 
which excites our wonder in collections of Brazilian in- 
sects, came sailing towards us. He alighted in our imme- 
diate neighborhood, folding all his azure glories out ^of 
sight, and looking, when still, like a great brown moth, 
spotted with white. We crept softly nearer, but the first 
leaf trodden under foot warned him, and he was off 
again, dazzling us with the beauty of his wonderful col- 
oring as he opened his wings and, bidding us a gay good- 
by, vanished among the trees. The sailing motion of these 
Morphos, though rapid, contrasts strikingly with the more 



EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 317 



fluttering flight of the Heliconians. The former give broad, 
strong strokes with their wide wings, the latter beat the air 
with quick, impatient, tremulous movements. 

December 20th. — This morning we left Mauhes, accom- 
panied by our Mundurucu Indian and his wife. The 
President takes them to Manaos, in the hope of obtain- 
ing their portraits to enlarge Mr. Agassiz's collection. I 
am interested in watching the deportment of these people, 
which is marked by a striking propriety that wins respect. 
They have remained in the seat where the Captain has 
placed them, not moving, except to bring their little bag- 
gage, from which the woman has taken out her work and 
is now busy in sewing, while her husband makes cigarette 
envelopes from a bark used by the Indians for this purpose ; 
— certainly very civilized occupations for savages. As they 
speak no Portuguese, we can only communicate with them 
through the interpreter or through Mr. Coutinho, who has 
considerable familiarity with the " lingua geral." They 
seem more responsive, more ready to enter into conversa- 
tion now than when we first saw them ; but the woman, 
when addressed, or when anything is offered to her, in- 
variably turns to her husband, as if the decision of every- 
thing rested with him. It might be thought that the fan- 
tastic ornaments of these Indians would effectually disguise 
all pretence to beauty ; but it is not so with this pair. 
Their features are fine, the build of the face solid and 
square, but not clumsy, and there is a passive dignity in 
their bearing which makes itself felt, spite of their tattoo- 
ing. I have never seen anything like the calm in the man's 
face ; it is not the stolidity of dulness, for his expression is 
sagacious and observant, but a look of such abiding tran- 
quillity that you cannot imagine that it ever has been or 



318 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



ever will be different. The woman's face is more mobile ; 
occasionally a smile lights it up, and her expression is sweet 
and gentle. Even her painted spectacles do not destroy the 
soft, drooping look in the eyes, very common among the 
Indian women here, and, as it would seem, characteristic of 
the women in the South American tribes ; for Humboldt 
speaks of it in those of the Spanish provinces to the north. 

Major Coutinho tells us that the tattooing has nothing to 
do with individual taste, but that the pattern is appointed 
for both sexes, and is invariable throughout the tribe. It 
is connected with their caste, the limits of which are very 
precise, and with their religion. The tradition runs thus, 
childish and inconsequent, like all such primitive fables. 
The first man, Caro Sacaibu, was also divine. Associated 
with him was his son, and an inferior being named Rairu, 
to whom, although he was as it were his prime minister 
and executed his commands, Caro Sacaibu was inimical. 
Among other stratagems he used to get rid of him was 
the following. He made a figure in imitation of a tatu 
(armadillo), and buried it partly in the earth, leaving 
only the tail exposed. He covered the tail with a kind 
of oil, which when touched adheres to the skin. He then 
commanded Rairu to drag the half-buried tatu out of its 
hole and bring it to him. Rairu seized it by the tail, but 
was of course unable to withdraw his hand, and the tatu, 
suddenly endowed with life by the Supreme Being, dived 
into the earth, dragging Rairu with him. The story does 
not say how Rairu found his way out of the earth again, 
but, being a spirit of great cunning and invention, he 
contrived to reach the upper air once more. On his re- 
turn, he informed Caro Sacaibu that he had found in the 
earth a great many men and women, and that it would 



EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 319 



be an excellent thing to get them out to till the soil and 
make themselves useful above ground. This advice seems 
to have found favor in the sight of Caro Sacaibu, who 
forthwith planted a seed in the ground. From this seed 
sprang a cotton-tree, for into this fantastic tale is thus 
woven the origin of cotton. The tree throve and grew 
apace, and from the soft white contents of its pods Caro 
Sacaibu made a long thread, with one end of which Rairu 
descended once more into the earth by the same hole 
through which he had entered before. He collected the 
people together, and they were dragged up through the 
hole by means of the thread. The first who came out 
were small and ugly, but gradually they improved in 
their personal appearance, until at last the men began 
to be finely formed and handsome, and the women beauti- 
ful. Unfortunately, by this time the thread was much 
worn, and being too weak to hold them, the greater 
number of handsome people fell back into the hole and 
were lost. It is for this reason that beauty is so rare a 
gift in the world. Caro Sacaibu now separated the popu- 
lation he had thus drawn from the bowels of the earth, 
dividing them into different tribes, marking them with 
distinct colors and patterns, which they have since re- 
tained, and appointing their various occupations. At the 
end there remained over a residue, consisting of the ugli- 
est, smallest, most insignificant representatives of the 
human race ; to these he said, drawing at the same 
time a red line over their noses, " You are not worthy to 
be men and women, — go and be animals." And so they 
were changed into birds, and ever since, the Mutums, with 
their red beaks and melancholy wailing voices, wander 
through the woods. 



320 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 

The tattooing of the Mundurucus is not only connected 
with this dim idea of a primitive creative command ; it is 
also indicative of aristocracy. A man who neglected this 
distinction would not be respected in his tribe ; and so 
strong is this traditional association, that, even in civilized 
settlements where tattooing is no longer practised, an 
instinctive respect is felt for this mark of nobility. A 
Mundurucu Indian, tattooed after the ancient fashion of 
his tribe, arriving in a civilized village, such as the one 
we visited, is received with the honor due to a person of 
rank. "II faut souffrir pour etre beau," was never truer 
than among these savages. It requires not less than ten 
years to complete the tattooing of the whole face and body ; 
the operation being performed, however, only at intervals. 
The color is introduced by fine puncturings over the whole 
surface ; a process which is often painful, and causes swell- 
ing and inflammation, especially on such sensitive parts as 
the eyelids. The purity of type among the Mundurucus 
is protected by stringent laws against close intermarriages. 
The tribe is divided into certain orders or classes, more 
or less closely allied ; and so far do they carry their 
respect for that law, which, though recognized in the 
civilized world, is so constantly sinned against, that mar- 
riage is forbidden, not only between members of the 
same family, but between those of the same order. A 
Mundurucu Indian treats a woman of the same order 
with himself as a sister ; any nearer relation between them 
is impossible. Major Coutinho, who has made a very care- 
ful study of the manners and habits of these people, assures 
- lis that there is no law niore sacred among them, or more 
rigidly observed, than this one. Their fine physique, for 
which they are said to be remarkable, is perhaps owing 



EXCURSION TO MAUHES AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 321 

to this. They are free from one great source of degener- 
ation of type. It is to be hoped that Major Coutinho, who, 
while making his explorations as an engineer on the Ama- 
zonian rivers, has also made a careful study of the tribes 
living along their margins, will one day publish the result 
of his investigations. It is to him we owe the greater 
part of the information we have collected on this subject. 



322 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTER XI. 

RETURN TO MANAOS. — EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. — LEAVE 

MANAOS. 

Christmas Eve at Manaos. — Ceremonies of the Indians. — Churches 
on the Amazons. — Leave Manaos for the Rio Negro. — Curious River 
Formation. — Aspect of the River. — Its Vegetation. — Scanty Popu- 
lation. — Village of Taua Peassu. — Padre of the Village. — Palms. 
— Village of Pedreira. — Indian Camp. — Making Palm-thatch. — 
Sickness and Want at Pedreira. — Row in the Forest. — Tropical 
Shower. — Geology of Pedreira. — Indian Recruits. — Collection of 
Palms. — Extracts from Mr. Agassiz's Notes on the Vegetation of 
the Amazons and the Rio Negro. — Return to Manaos. — Desolation 
of the Rio Negro. — Its future Prospects. — Humboldt's Anticipa- 
tions. — Wild Flowers. — Distribution of Fishes in the Amazonian 
Waters. — How far due to Migration. — Hydrographic System. — 
Alternation between the Rise and Fall of the Southern and North- 
ern Tributaries. 

December 25th. — Manaos. The Indians have a pretty 
observance here for Christmas eve. At nightfall, from the 
settlements at Hyanuary, two illuminated canoes come 
across the river to Manaos ; one bearing the figure of Our 
Lady, the other of Saint Rosalia. They look very brilliant 
as they come towards the shore, all the light concentrated 
about the figures carried erect in the prows. On landing, 
the Indians, many of whom have come to the city in 
advance, form a procession, — the women dressed in white, 
and with flowers in their hair, the men carrying torches 
or candles ; and they follow the sacred images, which are 
borne under a canopy in front of the procession, to the 
church, where they are deposited, and remain during Christ- 
mas week. We entered with them, and saw the kneeling, 
dusky congregation, and the two saints, — one a wooden, 



RETURN TO MANAOS. 



323 



coarsely painted image of the Virgin, the other a gayly 
dressed doll, — placed on a small altar, where was also a 
figure of the infant Jesus, surrounded by flowers. At a 
later hour the midnight mass was celebrated ; less interest- 
ing to me than the earlier ceremony, because not so exclu- 
sively a service of the Indians, though they formed a large 
part of the congregation ; and the music, as usual, was 
performed by the band of Indian boys from the Casa dos 
Educandos. But there is nothing here to make the Catholic 
service impressive ; the churches on the Amazons generally 
are of the most ordinary kind, and in a ruinous condition. 
There is a large unfinished stone church in Manaos, stand- 
ing on the hill, and occupying a commanding position, 
which will make it a conspicuous object if it is ever 
completed ; but it has stood in its present state for years, 
and seems likely to remain so for an indefinite length of 
time. It is a pity they have not the custom here of 
dressing their churches with green at Christmas, because 
they have so singularly beautiful and appropriate a tree 
for it in the palms. The Pupunha palm, for instance, so 
architectural in its symmetry, with its columnar-like stem 
and its dark-green vault of drooping leaves, would be 
admirable for this purpose. To-morrow we leave Manaos 
in the " Ibicuhy," in order to ascend the Rio Negro as 
far as Pedreira, where the first granitic formation is said to 
occur. 

December 27th. — On board the "Ibicuhy." There was 
little incident to mark our day yesterday, and yet it was 
one full of enjoyment. The day itself was such as rarely 
occurs in these regions ; indeed, I should say it is the only 
time, during the whole six months we have passed on the 
Amazons, when we have had cool weather with a clear 



324 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



sky. Cool weather here is usually the result of rain. 
As soon as the sun shows his face the heat is great. But 
yesterday a strong wind was blowing down the Rio Negro ; 
and its usually black, still waters were freshened to blue, 
and their surface broken by white caps. It is a curious 
fact in the history of this river, that, while tributary to 
the Amazons, it also receives branches from it. A little 
above its junction with the Solimoens, the latter sends sev- 
eral small affluents into the Rio Negro, the entrance to which 
we passed yesterday. The contrast between their milky- 
white waters and the clear, dark, amber tint of the main 
river makes them very conspicuous. It would seem that 
this is not a solitary instance of river formation in this 
gigantic fresh-water system ; for Humboldt says, speaking 
of the double communication between the Cassiquiare and 
the Rio Negro, and the great number of branches by which 
the Rio Branco and the Rio Hyapura enter into the Rio 
Negro and the Amazons : " At the confluence of the Hya- 
pura there is a much more extraordinary phenomenon. 
Before this river joins the Amazons, the latter, which is the 
principal recipient, sends off three branches, called Uara- 
napu, Manhama, and Avateparana, to the Hyapura, which 
is but a tributary stream. The Portuguese astronomer, 
Ribeiro, has proved this important fact. The Amazons 
gives waters to the Hyapura itself before it receives that 
tributary stream." So does it also to the Rio Negro. 

The physiognomy of the Rio Negro is peculiar, and very 
different from that of the Amazons or the Solimoens. The 
shores jut out in frequent promontories, which, while they 
form deep bays between, narrow the river from distance 
to distance, and, as we advance towards them, look like 
the entrances to harbors or lakes. Indeed, we have already 



EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 



325 



passed several large lakes ; but great sheets of water so 
abound here that they are nameless, and hardly attract 
attention. The vegetation also is different from that of 
the Amazons. As yet we have seen few palms ; and the 
forest is characterized by a great number of trees, the 
summits of which are evenly and gently arched, forming 
flattened domes. The most remarkable of these, on ac- 
count of its lofty height and spreading foliage, is the 
Sumaumera, to which I have alluded before. But this 
umbrella-like mode of growth is by no means confined 
to one tree, but, like the buttressed trunks, characterizes 
a number of Brazilian trees. It is, however, more frequent 
here than we have seen it elsewhere. The shores seem 
very scantily inhabited ; indeed, during our whole journey 
yesterday, we met but one canoe, which we hailed, in order 
to inquire our distance from the little hamlet of Taua 
Peassu, where we meant to drop anchor for the night. 
It was the boat of an Indian family going down the 
river. We were reminded that we were leaving inhab- 
ited regions, for the man who was rowing was quite 
naked ; his wife and children peeped out from under the 
tolda in the stern of the boat. We received from them 
the welcome intelligence that we were not far from our 
destination, where we accordingly arrived soon after night- 
fall. At this hour we could form but little idea of the ap- 
pearance of the place ; yet, by the moonlight, we could see 
that its few houses (some eight or ten, perhaps) stood on a 
crescent-shaped terrace, formed by the bank of a little bay 
which puts in just at this point. The gentlemen went on 
shore, and brought back the padre of the village to tea. 
He seems a man of a good deal of intelligence, and was 
eloquent upon the salubrity of the village, its freedom 



326 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



from mosquitoes, piums, and all kinds of noxious insects. 
At first a life so remote and isolated seems a bard lot, 
and one would think only the greatest devotion could 
induce a man to undertake it. But there is hardly a 
corner so remote in Brazil as not to be reached by the 
petty local politics ; and the padre is said to be a great 
politician, his campaign before election among the poor 
people with whom his lot is cast being as exciting to 
him as that of any man who canvasses in a more dis- 
tinguished arena ; the more satisfactory, perhaps, because 
he has the game very much in his own hands. We left 
Taua Peassu with the dawn, and are again on our way 
to Pedreira. The weather still continues most favorable 
for travelling, — an overcast sky and a cool breeze. But 
to-day the black river sleeps without a ripple ; and, as we 
pass along, the trees meet the water, and are so perfectly 
reflected in it that we can hardly distinguish the dividing 
line. I have said that the forest is not characterized by 
palms, and yet we see many species which we have not 
met before ; among these is the Jara-assu, with its tall, 
slender stem, and broom-like tuft of stiff leaves. Mr. 
Agassiz has just gone on shore in the montaria, to cut 
down some palms of another kind, new to him. As he 
returns, the little boat seems to have undergone some 
marvellous change ; it looks like a green raft floating on 
the water, and we can hardly see the figures of the 
rowers for the beautiful crowns of the palm-trees. 

December 29th. — Pedreira. I have said little about 
the insects and reptiles which play so large a part in most 
Brazilian travels, and, indeed, I have had much less annoy- 
ance from this source than I had expected. But I must 
confess the creature who greeted my waking sight this 



EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 



327 



morning was not a pleasant object to contemplate. It was 
an enormous centipede close by my side, nearly a foot in 
length, whose innumerable legs looked just ready for a 
start, and whose two horns or feelers were protruded with a 
most venomous expression. These animals are not only 
hideous to look upon, but their bite is very painful, though 
not dangerous. I crept softly away from my sofa without 
disturbing my ugly neighbor, who presently fell a victim to 
science ; being very adroitly caught under a large tumbler, 
and consigned to a glass jar filled with alcohol. Captain 
Faria says that centipedes are often brought on board with 
the wood, among which they usually lie concealed, seldom 
making their appearance, unless disturbed and driven out 
of their hiding-place. To less noxious visitors of this kind 
one gets soon accustomed. As I shake out my dress, I hear 
a cold flop on the floor, and a pretty little house-lizard, 
who has found a warm retreat in its folds, makes his 
escape with all celerity. Cockroaches swarm everywhere, 
and it would be a vigilant housekeeper who could keep 
her closets free of them. Ants are the greatest nuisance 
of all, and the bite of the fire-ant is really terrible. I 
remember once, in Esperan^a's cottage, having hung some 
towels to dry on the cord of my hammock ; I was about 
to remove them, when suddenly my hand and arm 
seemed plunged into fire. I dropped the towels as if they 
had been hot coals, which for the moment they literally 
seemed to be, and then I saw that my arm was covered 
with little brown ants. Brushing them off in all haste, 
I called Laudigari, who found an army of them passing 
over the hammock, and out of the window, near which 
it hung. He said they were on their way somewhere, 
and, if left undisturbed, would be gone in an hour or 



328 



A JOUENEY m BEAZIL. 



two. And so it proved to be. We saw no more of 
them. Major Coutinho says that, in certain Amazonian 
tribes, the Indian bridegroom is subjected to a singular 
test. On the day of his marriage, while the wedding 
festivities are going on, his hand is tied up in a paper 
bag filled with fire-ants. If he bears this torture smilingly 
and unmoved, he is considered fit for the trials of matri- 
mony. 

Yesterday we arrived at Pedreira, a little village con- 
sisting of some fifteen or twenty houses hemmed in by 
forest. The place certainly deserves its name of the 
" place of stones," for the shore is fringed with rocks 
and boulders. We landed at once, and Mr. Coutinho 
and Mr. Agassiz spent the morning in geologizing and 
botanizing. In the course of our ramble we came upon 
an exceedingly picturesque Indian camp. The river is now 
so high that the water runs far up into the forest. In such 
an overflowed wood, a number of Indian montarias were 
moored ; while, on a tract of dry land near by, the Indians 
had cleared a little grove, cutting down the inner trees, 
and leaving only the outer ones standing, so as to make 
a shady, circular arbor. Within this arbor the hammocks 
were slung ; while outside were the kettles and water- 
jugs, and utensils of one sort and another. In this little 
camp were several Indian families, who had left their 
mandioca plantations in the forest, to pass the Christmas 
festa in the village. I asked the women what they did, 
they and their babies, of which there were a goodly num- 
ber, when it rained ; for a roof of foliage is poor shelter 
in these tropical rains, descending, not in drops, but in 
sheets. They laughed, and, pointing to their canoes, said 
they crept under the tolda, the arched roof of palm- thatch 



EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 



329 



which always encloses the stern of an Indian montaria, 
and were safe. Even this, in the open river, would not 
be a protection ; but, moored as the boats are in the midst 
of a thick wood, they do not receive the full force of the 
showers. In returning from our walk we stopped at a 
house where an Indian was making palm-thatch from the 
leaflets of the Curua palm. When quite young, they are 
packed closely around the midrib. The Indians turn them 
down, leaving them attached to the axis by a few fibres 
only, so that, when the midrib is held up, they hang from 
it like so many straw-colored ribands, being, at that age, 
of a very delicate color. With these leaves they thatch 
their walls and roofs, setting the midrib, which is strong 
and sometimes four or five yards long, across, to serve as 
a support, and binding down the pendent leaves. Such a 
thatch will last for years, and is an excellent protection 
from rain as well as sun. I should add, that, in other 
parts of the country, different kinds of palms are used for 
this purpose. 

On our return to the village we were met by the padre, 
who invited us to rest at his house, stopping on the way, 
at our request, to show us the church. The condition of 
a settlement is generally indicated by the state of the 
church. This one was sadly in want of repairs, the mud 
walls being pierced with more windows than they were 
originally intended to possess ; but the interior was neat, 
and the altar prettier than one would expect to find in 
so poor a place as Pedreira appears to be. Perhaps the 
church was in better order than usual, being indeed in 
festival trim. Christmas week was not yet over, and the 
baby Christ lay on his green bed in a little arbor of leaves 
and flowers, evidently made expressly for the purpose. 



830 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



The padre of this little village, Father Samuel, an Italian 
priest, who has passed many years of his life among the 
Indians of South America, partly in Bolivia and partly in 
Brazil, had not so much to say in favor of the healthful- 
ness of his parish as the padre whom we had seen the 
night before in Taua Peassu. He told us that intermit- 
tent fever, from which he had suffered much himself, is 
frequent, and that the people are poorly and insufficiently 
fed. When they have had no recent arrival from Manaos, 
neither coffee, sugar, tea, nor bread are to be had in the 
village. As there is no beach here, the fishing is done at 
a distance on the other side of the river ; and when the 
waters are very high, fish are not obtained even there. At 
such times the Indians live exclusively on farinha d'agua 
and water. This meagre diet, though injurious to the health, 
satisfies the cravings of hunger with those accustomed to 
it ; but the few whites in this solitary place suffer severely. 
What a comment is this scarcity of food on the indo- 
lence and indifference of the population in a region where 
an immense variety of vegetables might be cultivated with 
little labor, where the pasturage is excellent (as is attested by 
the fine condition of the few cows at Pedreira), and where 
coffee, cacao, cotton, and sugar have a genial climate and 
soil, and yield more copious crops than in many countries 
from which large exports of these productions are made ! 
And yet, in this land of abundance, the people live in dread 
of actual want. The village consists, as I have said, of 
some fifteen or twenty houses, all of which are at this 
moment occupied ; but Father Samuel tells us that we see 
the little place at its flood-tide, Christmas week having 
brought together the inhabitants of the neighborhood. 
They will disperse again, after a few days, to their palm- 



EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 



331 



houses and mandioca plantations in the forest ; and the 
padre says that, on many a Sunday throughout the year, 
his congregation consists only of himself and the boys 
who assist at the service. 

After we had rested for half an hour at the priest's 
house, he proposed to send us to his little mandioca plan- 
tation at a short distance in the forest, where a partic- 
ular kind of palm, which Mr. Agassiz greatly coveted, was 
to be obtained. Such a proposition naturally suggests a 
walk ; but in this country of inundated surfaces land 
journeys, as will be seen, are often made by water. We 
started in a montaria, and, after keeping along the river 
for some time, we turned into the woods and began to 
navigate the forest. The water was still and clear as glass : 
the trunks of the trees stood up from it, their branches 
dipped into it ; and as we wound in and out among them, 
putting aside a bough here and there, or stooping to float 
under a green arbor, the reflection of every leaf was so per- 
fect that wood and water seemed to melt into each other, 
and it was difficult to say where the one began and the 
other ended. Silence and shade so profound brooded over 
the whole scene that the mere ripple of our paddles seemed 
a disturbance. After half an hour's row we came to dry 
land, where we went on shore, taking our boatmen with 
us ; and the wood soon resounded with the sound of their 
hatchets, as the palms fell under their blows. We returned 
with a boat-load of palms, besides a number of plants of 
various kinds which we had not seen elsewhere. We 
reached the " Ibicuhy " just in time ; for scarcely were 
we well on board and in snug quarters again, when the 
heavens opened and the floods came down. I am not 
yet accustomed to the miraculous force and profusion of 



332 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



these torrents of water, and every shower is a fresh sur- 
prise. Yet the rainy season is no such impediment to 
travelling and working as we had supposed it would be. 
The rain is by no means continuous, and there are often 
several days together of clear weather. Indeed, it no 
more rains all the time in the rainy season here than 
it snows all the time in the winter with us. One word 
of the geology. The Pedreira granite, of which we had 
heard, proves to be a granitoid mica-slate, — a highly 
metamorphic rock, indistinctly stratified, but resembling 
granite in its composition. It is in immediate contact 
with the red drift which rests above it. 

This morning we had a melancholy proof of the bru- 
tality of recruiting here, of which we have already heard 
so much. Several Indians, who had been kept in confine- 
ment in Pedreira for some days, waiting for an opportunity 
to send them to Manaos, were brought out to the ship. 
These poor wretches had their feet passed through heavy 
blocks of wood, the holes being just large enough to fit 
around the ankles. Of course they could only move 
with the greatest difficulty ; and they were half pushed, 
half dragged up the side of the vessel, one of them hav- 
ing apparently such a fit of ague upon him that, when he 
was fairly landed on his feet, I could see him shake from 
my seat at a distance of half the deck. These Indians 
can speak no Portuguese : they cannot understand why 
they are forced to go ; they only know that they are 
seized in the woods and treated as if they were the worst 
criminals ; punished with barbarity for no crime, and then 
sent to fight for the government which so misuses them. 
To the honor of our commander be it said, that he showed 
the deepest indignation at the condition in which these 



EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 333 

men were delivered into his hands : he caused the blocks 
of wood to be sawed off their feet immediately, gave 
them wine and food, and showed them every kindness. 
He protested that the whole proceeding was illegal, and 
contrary to the intentions of the central authority. It 
is, however, the way in which the recruiting is accom- 
plished throughout this Indian district ; and the defence 
made by those who justify it is, that the Indians, like any 
other citizens, must fight for the maintenance of the laws 
which protect them ; that the government needs their ser- 
vices ; and that this is the only way to secure them, as 
they are very unwilling to go, and very cunning and 
agile in escaping. Beside these three men, there were 
two others; one a volunteer, and the other from a better 
class, the pilot of the cataract on the Rio Branco. A 
man so employed ought, for the sake of the community, 
to be exempt from military service, as few persons under- 
stand the dangerous navigation of the river, where broken 
by cascades. He will doubtless be sent back when his case 
is represented to the President of the province. 

December 31st. — Again on our way back to Manaos, 
having made, on our return, another short stay at Taua 
Pdassu, where, during the two days of our absence, the 
padre of the village had prepared a large collection of 
palms for Mr. Agassiz. Our collection of palms is becom- 
ing quite numerous ; and though they must of course, in 
the process of drying, lose all their beauty of coloring, we 
hope they may retain something of the grace and dignity 
of their bearing. But even should this not be the case, 
they will answer every purpose of study, as with each one 
specimens of its fruit and flowers are preserved in alcohol. 
A palm has just been brought on board — the Baccaba, or 



334 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



wine-palm ((Enocarpus) — from which the flowers droop in 
long crimson cords, with bright-green berries from dis- 
tance to distance along their length, like an immense coral 
tassel, flecked here and there with green, hanging from 
the dark trunk of the tree. The mode of flowering of 
the cocoa-nut palm, which we see everywhere though 
it is not indigenous here, is very beautiful. The flowers 
burst from the sheath in a long plume of soft, creamy- 
white blossoms : such a plume is so heavy with the 
weight of pendent flowers that it can hardly be lifted ; 
and its effect is very striking, hanging high up on the 
trunk, just under the green vault of leaves. I think 
there is nothing among the characteristic features of trop- 
ical scenery of which one forms less idea at home than 
of the palms. Their name is legion ; the variety of their 
forms, of their foliage, fruit, and flowers, is perfectly be- 
wildering ; and yet, as a group, their character is unmis- 
takable. The following extracts are taken from Mr. Agas- 
siz's notes on palms, written during this excursion on the 
Rio Negro. 

" The palms, as a natural group, stand out among all 
other plants with remarkable distinctness and individuality. 
And yet this common character, uniting them so closely as 
a natural order, does not prevent the most striking difference 
between various kinds of palms. As a whole, no family of 
trees is more similar ; generically and specifically none is 
more varied, even though other families include a greater 
number of species. Their differences seem to me to be de- 
termined in a great measure by the peculiar arrangement 
of their leaves ; indeed, palms, with their colossal leaves, 
few in number, may be considered as ornamental diagrams 
of the primary laws according to which the leaves of all 



EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 



335 



plants throughout the whole vegetable kingdom are ar- 
ranged ; laws now recognized by the most advanced botan- 
ists of the day, and designated by them as Phyllotaxis. The 
simplest arrangement in these mathematics of the vegetable 
world is that of the grasses, in which the leaves are placed 
alternately on opposite sides of the stem, thus dividing the 
space around it in equal halves. As the stem of the grasses 
elongates, these pairs of leaves are found scattered along its 
length ; and it is only in ears or spikes of some genera that 
we find them growing so compactly on the axis as to form a 




Fan Baccaba ((Enocarpus distychius). 

close head. Of this law of growth the palm known as the 
Baccaba of Para ((Enocarpus distychius) is an admirable 



336 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



illustration ; its leaves being disposed in pairs one above 
another at the summit of the stem, but in such immediate 
contact as to form a thick crown. On account of this dis- 
position of the leaves, its appearance is totally different from 
that of any other palm with which I am acquainted. I do 
not know any palm in which the leaves are arranged in 
three directions only, as in the reeds and sedges of our 
marshes, unless it be the Jacitara (Desmonchus), whose 
winding slender stem, however, makes the observation un- 
certain. An arrangement in five different directions is 
common in all those palms which, when young, have only 
a cluster of five fully developed leaves above the ground, 
with a spade-like sixth leaf rising from the centre. When 
full grown, they usually exhibit a crown of ten or fifteen 
leaves and more, divided into tiers of five, one above the other, 
but so close together that the whole appears like a rounded 
head. Sometimes, however, the crown is more open, as in 
the Maximiliana regia (Inaja), for instance, in which the 
stem is not very high, and the leaves, always in cycles of 
five, spread slightly, so as to form an open vase rising from a 
slender stem. The Assai (Euterpe edulis) ,has an eight- 
leaved arrangement, and has never more than a single cycle 
of leaves, though it may sometimes have seven leaves when 
the first of the old cycle has dropped, before the ninth, with 
which the new cycle begins, has opened ; or nine, if the first 
leaf of the new cycle (the ninth in number) has opened, 
before the first of the old cycle has dropped. These leaves, 
of a delicate, pale green, are cut into a thousand leaflets, 
which tremble in the lightest breeze, and tell you that the 
air is stirring even when the heat seems breathless. A more 
elegant and attractive diagram of the Phyllotaxis of f prob- 
ably does not exist in nature. The common Cocoa-nut tree 



EXCUKSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 



337 



lias its leaves arranged according to the fraction of ^3 ; but, 
though the crown consists of several cycles of leaves, they 
do not form a close head, because the older ones become 
pendent, while the younger are more erect. The Pupunha, 
or peach palm (Guilielma), follows the Phyllotaxis of -fa ; 
but in this instance all the leaves are evenly arched ovei, 
so that the whole forms a deep-green vault, the more beau- 
tiful from the rich color of the foliage. When the heavy 
cluster of ripe, red fruit hangs under this dark vault, the 
tree is in its greatest beauty. As the leaves of this palm 
are not so closely set in the younger specimens as in the 
older ones, its aspect changes at different stages of growth ; 
the leaves in the younger trees being distributed over a 
greater length of the trunk, while, in the adult taller ones, 
they are more compact. This arrangement is repeated in 
the Javari and Tucuma (Astrocaryum) ; but in these the 
closely- set leaves stand erect, broom-like, at the head of the 
long stalk. In the Mucaja (Acrocomia) the leaves are ar- 
ranged according to the fraction Jj. Thus, under the 
same fundamental principle of growth, an infinite variety is 
introduced, among trees of one order, by the slight dif- 
ferences in the distribution and constitution of the leaves 
themselves. In the Musaceae, or Scytamineae, the Bananas, 
another order of the same class of plants, a diversity equally 
remarkable is produced in the same way, namely, by slight 
modifications of this fundamental law. What can differ 
more in appearance than the common Banana (Musa par- 
adisiaca), with its large simple leaves, so loosely arranged 
around the stem, so graceful and easy in their movements, 
and the Banana of Madagascar (Ravenala madagascariensis), 
commonly known as the Traveller's tree, which, like the 
Baccaba of Pard, has its leaves alternating regularly on op- 
15 v 



338 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



posite sides of the trunk, and so closely packed together as 
to form an immense flat fan on a colossal stem ? Yet, in all 
these plants the arrangement of leaves obeys the same law, 
which is illustrated with equal distinctness by each one. 
This mathematical disposition of leaves is thus shown to bo 
compatible with a great variety of essentially different struc- 
tures ; and though the law of Phyllotaxis prevails in all 
plants, being limited neither to class, orders, families, genera, 
nor species, but running in various combinations through 
the whole kingdom, I believe it can be studied to especial 
advantage in the group of palms, on account of the promi- 
nence of their few large leaves. The most abundant and 
characteristic palms of the Rio Negro are the Javari (Astro- 
caryum Javari), the Muru-Muru (Astrocaryum Murumuru), 
the Uauassu (Attalea speciosa), the Inaja (Maximiliana re- 
gia), the Baccaba ((Enocarpus Baccaba), the Paxiuba (Iri- 
artea exorhiza), the Carana (Mauritia Carana), the Caranai 
(Mauritia horrida), the Ubim (Geonoma), and the Curua 
(Attalea spectabilis) ; of these the two latter are the most 
useful. The remarkable Piassaba (Leopoldinia Piassaba) 
occurs only far above the junction of the Rio Negro and Rio 
Branco. We obtained, however, a specimen that had been 
planted at Itatiassu. The many small kinds of Ubim (Geo- 
noma), and Maraja (Bactris), and even the Jara (Leopol- 
dinia), are so completely overshadowed by the larger trees 
that they are only noticed where clustered along the river- 
banks. Bussus (Manicaria), Assais (Euterpe) Mucaja 
(Acrocomia), grow also on the Rio Negro, but it remains 
to be ascertained whether they are specifically identical with 
those of the Lower Amazons. So peculiar is the aspect of 
the different species of palms that, from the deck of the 
steamer, they can be singled out as easily as the live-oaks 



EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 



339 



or peccan-nut trees, so readily distinguished on the lower 
course of the Mississippi, or the different kinds of oaks, 
birches, beeches, or walnut-trees which attract observation 
when sailing along the shores of our Northern lakes. It 
seems, however, impossible to discriminate between all the 
trees of this wonderful Amazonian forest ; partly because 
they grow in such heterogeneous associations. In the 
temperate zone we have oak-forests, pine-forests, birch, 
beech, and maple woods, the same kinds of trees con- 
gregating together on one soil. Not so here ; there is 
the most extraordinary diversity in the combination of 
plants, and it is a very rare thing to see the soil occu- 
pied for any extent by the same kind of tree. A large 
number of the trees forming these forests are still unknown 
to science, and yet the Indians, those practical botanists 
and zoologists, are well acquainted, not only with their 
external appearance, but also with their various properties. 
So intimate is their practical knowledge of the natural ob- 
jects about them, that I believe it would greatly contribute 
to the progress of science if a systematic record were made 
of all the information thus scattered through the land ; an 
encyclopaedia of the woods, as it were, taken down from 
the tribes which inhabit them. I think it would be no bad 
way of collecting, to go from settlement to settlement, send- 
ing the Indians out to gather all the plants they know, to 
dry and label them with the names applied to them in the 
locality, and writing out, under the heads of these names, 
all that may thus be ascertained of their medicinal and 
otherwise useful properties, as well as their botanical char- 
acter. A critical examination of these collections would at 
once correct the information thus obtained, especially if the 
person intrusted with the care of gathering these materials 



340 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



had so much knowledge of botany as would enable him to 
complete the collections brought in by the Indians, adding 
to them such parts as might be wanted for a complete sys- 
tematic description. The specimens ought not to be chosen, 
however, as they have hitherto been, solely with reference to 
those parts which are absolutely necessary to identify the 
species ; the collections, to be complete, ought to include the 
wood, the bark, the roots, and the soft fruits in alcohol. The 
abundance and variety of timber in the Amazonian Yalley 
strikes us with amazement. We long to hear the saw-mill 
busy in these forests, where there are several hundred kinds 
of woods, admirably suited for construction as well as for the 
finest cabinet-work ; remarkable for the beauty of their grain, 
for their hardness, for the variety of their tints and their 
veining, and for their durability. And yet so ignorant are 
the inhabitants of the value of timber that, when they want 
a plank, they cut down a tree, and chop it to the desired 
thickness with a hatchet. There are many other vegetable 
products, besides those already exported from the Amazons, 
which will one day be poured into the market from its fer- 
tile shores. The clearest and purest oils are made from 
some of the nuts and palm fruits, while many of the palms 
yield the most admirable fibrous material for cordage, singu- 
larly elastic and resistant. Besides its material products, — 
and of these the greater part rot on the ground for want 
of hands to gather them, — the climate and soil are favora- 
ble for the growth of sugar, coffee, cocoa, and cotton ; and 
I may add, that the spices of the East might be cultivated in 
the valley of the Amazons as well as in the Dutch posses- 
sions of Asia." 

Sunday, 31st. — Manaos. We had wished exceedingly 
to extend our excursion on the Rio Negro to the mouth 



EXCURSION ON THE RIO NEGRO. 



341 



of the Rio Branco, but our pilot would not undertake 
to conduct the " Ibicuhy " beyond Pedreira, as he said 
the stones in the bed of the river were numerous and 
large and the channel at this season not very deep. We 
were, therefore, obliged to return without accomplishing 
the whole object of this voyage ; but though short, it 
was nevertheless most interesting, and has left with us 
a vivid impression of the peculiar character of this great 
stream. Beautiful as are the endless forests, however, we 
could not but long, when skirting them day after day 
without seeing a house or meeting a canoe, for the sight 
of tilled soil, for pasture-lands, for open ground, for wheat- 
fields and haystacks, — for any sign, in short, of the presence 
of man. As we sat at night in the stern of the vessel, 
looking up this vast river, stretching many hundred leagues, 
with its solitary, uninhabited shores and impenetrable for- 
ests, it was difficult to resist an oppressive sense of loneli- 
ness. Though here and there an Indian settlement or a 
Brazilian village breaks the distance, yet the population is 
a mere handful in such a territory. I suppose the time 
will come when the world will claim it, when this river, 
where, in a six days' journey, we have passed but two 
or three canoes, will have its steamers and vessels of all 
sorts going up and down, and its banks will be busy 
with life ; but the day is not yet. When I remember the 
poor people I have seen in the watch-making and lace- 
making villages of Switzerland, hardly lifting their eyes 
off their work from break of day till night, and even 
then earning barely enough to keep them above actual want, 
and think how easily everything grows here, on land to be 
had for almost nothing, it seems a pity that some parts of 
the world should be so overstocked that there is not nour- 



342 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



ishment for all, and others so empty that there are none to 
gather the harvest. We long to see a vigorous emigra- 
tion pour into this region so favored by Nature, so bare of 
inhabitants. But things go slowly in these latitudes ; 
great cities do not spring up in half a century, as with us. 
Humboldt, in his account of his South-American journey, 
writes : " Since my departure from the banks of the Orinoco 
and the Amazon, a new era has unfolded itself in the social 
state of the nations of the West. The fury of civil dis- 
sensions has been succeeded by the blessings of peace, and 
a freer development of the arts of industry. The bifurca- 
tions of the Orinoco, the isthmus of Tuamini, so easy to 
be made passable by an artificial canal, will erelong fix 
the attention of commercial Europe. The Cassiquiare, as 
broad as the Rhine, and the course of which is one hundred 
and eighty miles in length, will no longer form uselessly a 
navigable canal between two basins of rivers which have 
a surface of one hundred and ninety thousand square 
leagues. The grain of New Granada will be carried to 
the banks of the Rio Negro ; boats will descend from the 
sources of the Napo and the Ucuyale, from the Andes of 
Quito and of Upper Peru, to the mouths of the Orinoco, — 
a distance which equals that from Timbuctoo to Marseilles. " 
Such were the anticipations of Humboldt more than sixty 
years ago ; and at this day the banks of the Rio Negro 
and the Cassiquiare are still as luxuriant and as desolate, 
as fertile and as uninhabited, as they were then. 

January 8th. — Manaos. The necessity for some days of 
rest, after so many months of unintermitted work, has 
detained Mr. Agassiz here for a week. It has given us 
an opportunity of renewing our walks in the neighbor- 
hood of Manaos, of completing our collection of plants, 



LEAVE MANAOS. 



343 



and also of refreshing our memory of scenes which we shall 
probably never see again, and among which we have had 
a pleasant home for nearly three months. The woods are 
much more full of flowers than they were when I first 
became acquainted with their many pleasant paths. Pas- 
sion-flowers are especially abundant. There is one kind 
which has a delicious perfume, not unlike Cape Jessamine. 
It hides itself away in the shade, but its fragrance betrays 
it ; and if you put aside the branches of the trees, you are 
sure to find its large white-and-purple flowers, and dark, 
thick-leaved vine, climbing up some neighboring trunk. 
Another, which seems rather to court than avoid observa- 
tion, is of a bright red ; and its crimson stars are often 
seen set, as it were, in the thick foliage of the forest. 
But, much as I enjoy the verdure here, I appreciate, more 
than ever before, the marked passage of the seasons in our 
Northern hemisphere. In this unchanging, green world, 
which never alters from century to century, except by a 
little more or less moisture, a little more or less heat, I 
think with the deepest gratitude of winter and spring, 
summer and autumn. The circle of nature seems incom- 
plete, and even the rigors of our climate are remembered 
with affection in this continual vapor-bath. It is literally 
true that you cannot move ten steps without being drenched 
in perspiration. However, this character of the heat pre- 
vents it from being scorching ; and we have no reason to 
change our first impression, that, on the whole, the climate 
is much less oppressive than we expected to find it, and the 
nights are invariably cool. 

At the end of this week we resume our voyage on board 
the " Ibicuhy," going slowly down to Para, stopping at several 
points on the way. Our first station will be at Villa Bel- 



344 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



la, where Mr. Agassiz wishes to make another collection of 
fishes. It may seem strange that, after having obtained, 
nearly five months ago, very large collections from the Ama- 
zons itself at this point, as well as from the lakes in the 
neighborhood, he should return to the same locality, instead 
of choosing another region for investigation. Were his 
object merely or mainly to become acquainted with the end- 
less diversity of fishes he now knows to exist in this im- 
mense fresh-water basin, such a repetition of specimens from 
the same locality would certainly be superfluous, since it is 
probable that a different point would be more prolific in new 
species. The mere accumulation of species is, however, 
entirely subordinate to the object which he has kept in view 
ever since he began his present researches, namely, that of 
ascertaining by direct observation the geographical range of 
the fishes, and determining whether their migrations are so 
frequent and extensive as they are said to be. I make an 
extract from Mr. Agassiz' s notes on this subject. 

" I have been frequently told here that the fishes were 
very nomadic, the same place being occupied at different 
seasons of the year by different species. My own investiga- 
tions have led me to believe that these reports are founded 
on imperfect observations, and that the localization of species 
is more distinct and permanent in these waters than has been 
supposed ; their migrations being, indeed, very limited, con- 
sisting chiefly in rovings from shallower to deeper waters, 
and from these to shoals again, at those seasons when the 
range of the shore in the same water-basin is affected by 
the rise and fall of the river ; — that is to say, the fishes 
found at the bottom of a lake covering perhaps a square 
mile in extent, when the waters are lowest, will appear near 
the shores of the same lake when, at the season of high 



LEAVE MANAOS. 



345 



waters, it extends over a much wider area. In the same 
way, fishes which gather near the mouth of a rivulet, at 
the time of low waters, will be found as high as its origin 
at the period of high waters ; while fishes which inhabit 
the larger igarapes on the sides of the Amazons when they 
are swollen by the rise of the river, may be found in the 
Amazons itself when the stream is low. There is not a 
single fish known to ascend from the sea to the higher 
courses of the Amazons at certain seasons, and to return 
regularly to the ocean. There is no fish here corresponding 
to the salmon, for instance, which ascends the streams of 
Europe and North America to deposit its spawn in the cool 
head-waters of the larger rivers, and then returns to the sea. 
The wanderings of the Amazonian fishes are rather a result 
of the alternate widening and contracting of their range 
by the rise and fall of the waters, than of a migratory 
habit ; and may be compared to the movements of those 
oceanic fishes which, at certain seasons, seek the shoals 
near the shore, while they spend the rest of the year in 
deeper waters. 

" Take our shad as an example. It is caught on the coast 
of Georgia in February, on the Carolina shores a little 
later ; in March it may be found in Washington and Balti- 
more, next in Philadelphia and New York ; and it does not 
make its appearance in the Boston market (except when 
brought from farther south) before the latter part of April, 
or the beginning of May. This sequence has led to the 
belief that the shad migrates from Georgia to New England. 
An examination of the condition of these fishes, during the 
months when they are sold in our markets, shows at once 
that this cannot be the case. They are always full of roe r 
and, being valued for the table at this period, they are 

15* 



846 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



brought to market at each locality until the spawning season 
is over. Now, as they cannot breed twice within a few weeks, 
it is evident that the shad which make their appearance suc- 
cessively along the Atlantic coast from February to May are 
not the same. It is the spring which migrates northward, 
calling up the shoals of shad from the deeper sea, as it 
touches in succession different points along the shore. 
Such movements, if thus connected with the advancing 
spring along a whole coast, appear to be migrations from 
south to north, when they are, in fact, only the successive 
rising of the same species from deeper to shallower waters 
at the breeding season. In the same way it is probable that 
the inequality in the seasons of rise and fall, between the 
different tributaries of the Amazons and the various parts 
of its own course, may give a sequence to the appearance of 
the fish in certain localities, which seems like migration with- 
out being so, in fact. 

" Keeping in view all the information I could obtain upon 
this subject, I have attempted, wherever it was possible to 
do so, to make collections simultaneously at different points 
of the Amazons : thus, while I was collecting at Villa Bella 
six months ago, some of my assistants were engaged in the 
same way at Santarem, and higher up on the Tapajoz ; while 
I was working at Teffe, parties were busy in the Hyavary, the 
Ic,a, and the Hyutahy ; and during my last stay at Manaos, 
parties have been collecting at Cudajas and at Manacaparu, 
and higher up on the Rio Negro, as well as at some lower 
points on the main river. At some of these stations I have 
been able to repeat my investigations at different seasons, 
though the intervals between the earlier and later collections 
made at the same localities have, of course, not been the 
same. Between the first collections made at Teffe and the 



LEAVE MANAOS. 



347 



last, hardly two months intervened, while those made on 
our first arrival at Manaos in September up to the present 
time cover an interval of four months ; from the first to 
the last at Villa Bella more than five months will have 
elapsed. On this account I attach great importance to the 
renewal of my investigations at that place, as well as to 
the later collections from Obydos, Santarem, Monte Alegre, 
Porto do Moz, Gurupa, Tajapuru, and Para. As far as 
these comparisons have gone, they show that the distinct 
faunae of the above-named localities are not the result of 
migrations ; for not only have different fishes been found 
in all these basins at the same time, but at different times 
the same fishes have been found to recur in the same basins, 
whenever the fishing was carried on, not merely in favored 
localities, but as far as possible over the whole area indis- 
criminately, in deep and shoal waters. Should it prove that 
at Para, as well as at the intervening stations, after an in- 
terval of six months, the fishes are throughout the same as 
when we ascended the river, the evidence against the sup- 
posed extensive migrations of the Amazonian fishes will 
certainly be very strong. The striking limitation of species 
within definite areas does not, however, exclude the presence 
of certain kinds of fish simultaneously throughout the whole 
Amazonian basin. The Pirarucu, for instance, is found 
everywhere from Peru to Para ; and so are a few other 
species more or less extensively distributed over what may 
be considered distinct ichthyological faunae. But these wide- 
spread species are not migratory ; they have normally and 
permanently a wide range, just as some terrestrial animals 
have an almost cosmopolite character, while others are cir- 
cumscribed within comparatively narrow limits. Though 
most quadrupeds of the United States, for instance, differ 



348 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



from those of Mexico and Brazil, constituting several dis- 
tinct faunas, there is one, the puma or red lion, the panther 
of the North, which is found on the east of the Rocky Moun- 
tains and the Andes, from Patagonia to Canada. 

" The movement of the waters, which affects so powerfully 
the distribution of the fishes, forms in itself a very curious 
phenomenon. There is, as it were, a rhythmical correspond- 
ence in the rise and fall of the affluents on either shore of 
the Amazons, causing the great body of the water, in its 
semiannual tides, to sway alternately more to the north or 
to the south. On the southern side of the valley, the rains 
begin in the months of September and October. They pour 
down from the table-lands of Brazil and the mountains of 
Bolivia with cumulative force, gathering strength as the 
rainy season progresses, swelling the head-waters of the 
Purus, Madeira, Tapajoz, and other southern tributaries, 
and gradually descending to the main stream. The process 
is a slow one, however, and the full force of the new flood 
is not felt in the Amazons until February and March. Dur- 
ing the month of March, in the region below the confluence 
of the Madeira, for instance, the rise of the Amazons aver- 
ages a foot in twenty-four hours, so great is the quantity of 
water poured into it. At about the same period with the 
southern rains, or a little earlier, say in the months of Au- 
gust and September, the snows in the Andes begin to melt 
and flow down towards the plain. This contribution from 
the Cordilleras of Peru and Equador, coinciding with that 
from the highlands of Brazil and Bolivia, swells the Ama- 
zons in its centre and on its southern side to such an extent 
that the bulk of the water pushes northward, crowding upon 
its northern shore, and flowing even into the tributaries 
which open on that side of the river, and are now at their 



LEAVE MANAOS. 



349 



lowest ebb. Presently, however, the rains on the table-lands 
of Guiana, and on the northern spurs of the Andes, where 
the rainy season prevails chiefly in February and March, 
repeat the same process in their turn. During April and 
May the northern tributaries are rising, and they reach 
their maximum in June. Thus, at the end of June, when 
the southern rivers have already fallen considerably, the 
northern rivers are at their flood-tide. The Rio Negro, for 
instance, rises at Manaos to about forty-five feet above its 
lowest level. This mass of water from the north now presses 
against that in the centre, and bears it southward again. 
The rainy season along the course of the Amazons is from 
December till March, corresponding very nearly, in the time 
of the year and in duration, with our winter. It must be 
remembered that the valley of the Amazons is not a valley 
in the ordinary sense, bordered by walls or banks enclosing 
the waters which flow between. It is, on the contrary, a 
plain some seven or eight hundred miles wide and between 
two and three thousand miles long, with a slope so slight 
that it hardly averages more than a foot in ten miles. Be- 
tween Obydos and the sea-shore, a distance of about eight 
hundred miles, the fall is only forty-five feet ; between Taba- 
tinga and the sea-shore, a distance of more than two thou- 
sand miles in a straight line, the fall is about two hundred 
feet. The impression to the eye is, therefore, that of an 
absolute plain ; and the flow of the water is so gentle that, 
in many parts of the river, it is hardly perceptible. Never- 
theless, it has a steady movement eastward, descending the 
gentle slope of this wide plain, from the Andes to the sea ; 
this movement, aided by the interflow from the south and 
north at opposite seasons, presses the bulk of the water to 
its northernmost reach during our winter months, and to 



350 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



its southernmost limit during our summer months. In con- 
sequence of this, the bottom of the valley is constantly shift- 
ing, and there is a tendency to form channels from the main 
river to its tributaries, such as we have seen to exist be- 
tween the Solimoens and the Rio Negro, — such as Hum- 
boldt mentions between the Hyapura and the Amazons. In- 
deed, all these rivers are bound together by an extraordi- 
nary network of channels, forming a succession of natural 
highways which will always make artificial roads, to a great 
degree, unnecessary. Whenever the country is settled, it 
will be possible to pass from the Purus, for instance, to the 
Madeira, from the Madeira to the Tapajoz, from the Tapajoz 
to the Xingu, and thence to the Tocantins, without entering 
the course of the main river. The Indians call these passes 
'furoj literally, a bore, — a passage pierced from one river 
to another. Hereafter, when the interests of commerce 
claim this fertile, overflowed region, these channels will be 
of immense advantage for intercommunication." 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



351 



CHAPTER XII. 

DESCENDING THE RIVER TO PARA. — EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 

Farewell Visit to the Great Cascade at Manaos. — Change in its Aspect. 

— Arrival at Villa Bella. — Return to the House of the Fisherman 
Maia. — Excursion to the Lago Maximo. — Quantity of Game and 
Waterfoavl. — Victoria regia. — Leave Villa Bella. — Arrive at Oby- 
dos. — Its Situation and Geology. — Santarem. — Visit to the Church. 

— Anecdote of Martius. — A Row overland. — Monte Alegre. — Pic- 
turesque Scenery. — " Banheiras." — Excursion into the Country. — 
Leave Monte Alegre. — Anecdote of Indians. — Almeyrim. — New 
Geological Facts. — Porto do Moz. — Collections. — Gurupa'. — Taja- 
puru. — Arrive at Para. — Eeligious Procession. — Excursion to Ma- 
ra jo. — Soures. — Jesuit Missions. — Geology of Marajo. — Buried For- 
est. — Vigia. — Igarape. — Vegetation and Animal Life. — Geology. — 
Return to Para. — Photographing Plants. — Extract from Mr. Agas- 
siz's Notes on the Vegetation of the Amazons. — Prevalence of 
Leprosy. 

January 15th. — To-day finds us on our way down the 
Amazons in the "Ibicuhy." The day before leaving Manaos 
we paid a last visit to the great cascade, bathed once more 
in its cool, delicious waters, and breakfasted by the side 
of the fall. Before many weeks are over, the cascade will 
have disappeared ; it will be drowned out, as it were, for 
the igarape* is filling rapidly with the rise of the river, 
and will soon reach the level of the sandstone shelf over 
which the water is precipitated. Already the appearance 
of the spot is greatly changed since we were there before. 
The banks are overflowed ; the rocks and logs which stood 
out from the water are wholly covered ; and where there 
was only a brawling stream, so shallow that it hardly 
afforded depth for the smallest canoe, there is now a not 
insignificant river. Indeed, everywhere we see signs of 



352 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



the changes wrought by the " enchente." The very tex- 
ture of the Amazons is changed ; it is thicker and yellower 
than when we ascended it, and much more laden with 
floating wood, detached grasses, and debris of all sorts 
washed from the shore. Wild-flowers are also more abun- 
dant than they were when we came up the river in Septem- 
ber ; not delicate, small plants, growing low among moss 
and grass, as do our violets, anemones, and the like ; but 
large blossoms, covering tall trees, and resembling exotics 
at home, by their rich color and powerful odor. Indeed, 
the flowers of the Amazonian forests always remind me 
of hot-house plants : and there often comes a warm breath 
from the depths of the woods, laden with moisture and 
perfume, like the air from the open door of a conservatory. 

January 11th. — We reached Villa Bella at eight o'clock 
yesterday morning, but waited there only a few hours to 
make certain necessary arrangements, and then kept on 
to the mouth of the river Ramos, an hour's sail from the 
town, — the same river which we had ascended from its 
upper point of juncture with the Amazons, on our ex- 
cursion to Mauhes. We anchored at a short distance 
from the entrance, before the house of our old acquaint- 
ances, the Maias, where, it may be remembered, we passed 
a few days when collecting in this neighborhood before. 
Fortunately, Maia himself was in Manaos when we left, 
employed as a soldier in the National Guard ; and the 
President kindly gave him leave to accompany us, that 
Mr. Agassiz might have the advantage of his familiarity 
with the locality, and his experience in fishing. The man 
himself was pleased to have an opportunity of visiting his 
family, to whom his coming was an agreeable surprise. We 
went on shore this morning to make them a visit, taking 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



353 



with us some little souvenirs, such as beads, trinkets, 
knives, &c. We were received as old friends, and made 
welcome to all the house would afford ; but, though as 
clean as ever, it looked poorer than on our former visit. 
I saw neither dried fish nor mandioca nor farinha, and 
the woman told me that she found it very hard to sup- 
port her large family, now that the husband and father 
was away. 

The quantity of detached grass, shrubs, &c. carried 
past the vessel, as we lie here at anchor, is amazing, — 
floating gardens, sometimes half an acre in extent. Some 
of these green rafts are inhabited ; water-birds go sailing 
by upon them, and large animals are occasionally carried 
down the river in this way. The commander told me that, 
on one occasion, when an English vessel was lying at 
anchor in the Parana, one of these grassy gardens was 
seen coming down the river with two deer upon it. The 
current brought it directly against the ship, and the captain 
had only to receive on board the guests who arrived thus 
unexpectedly to demand his hospitality. In the same river 
another floating island brought with it a less agreeable 
inhabitant : a large tiger had possessed himself of it and 
was sailing majestically with the current, passing so near 
the shores that he was distinctly seen from the banks ; 
and people went out in montarias to get a nearer view 
of him, though keeping always at a respectful distance. 
The most conspicuous of the plants thus detached from 
the shore are the Canarana (a kind of wild cane), a variety 
of aquatic Aroides, Pistia among the number, Ecornia, 
and a quantity of graceful floating Marsileaceae. 

January l&th. — To-day we have been on a hunt after 
the Victoria regia. We have made constant efforts to 



354 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



see this famous lily growing in its native waters ; but, 
though frequently told that it was plenty at certain sea- 
sons in the lakes and igarape's, we have never been able 
to find it. Yesterday some of the officers of the ship, 
who had been on an excursion to a neighboring lake, 
returned laden with botanical treasures of all sorts, and, 
among other plants, an immense lily-leaf, which, from its 
dimensions, we judged must be the Victoria regia, though 
it had not the erect edge so characteristic of it. This 
morning, accompanied by two or three of yesterday's 
party, who kindly undertook to be our guides, we went 
to visit the same lake. A short walk from the river- 
bank brought us to the shore of a large sheet of water, 
— the Lago Maximo, — which connects with the Ramos 
by a narrow outlet, but at a point so distant from our 
anchorage that it would have been necessary to make 
a great detour in order to reach it in a canoe. We 
found an old montaria, with one or two broken paddles, 
left, as it seemed, at the lake-shore for whom it might 
concern, and in that we embarked at once. The banks 
of this lake are bordered with beautiful forests, which do 
not, however, rise immediately from the water, but are 
divided from it by a broad band of grass. We saw many 
water-birds on this grassy edge, as well as on several 
dead trees, the branches of which were completely cov- 
ered with gulls, all in exactly the same attitude, facing 
one way, to meet the wind which blew strongly against 
them. Ducks and ciganas were plenty ; and once or 
twice we startled up from the woods small flocks of 
mackaws, — not only the gaudy red, green, and yellow 
species, but the far more beautiful blue mackaw. They 
flew by us, with their gorgeous plumage glittering in the 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



355 



sun, and disappeared again among the trees, seeking deeper 
and more undisturbed retreats. From the reedy grasses 
came also the deep note of the unicorn, so greatly prized 
in Brazil, — a large bird, half wader, half fowl, belong- 
ing to the genus Palamedea ; but as we were only pre- 
pared for a botanizing expedition, we could not avail 
ourselves of any of the opportunities thus offered ; and 
the birds, however near and tempting the shots, had 
little to fear from us. At the upper end of the lake we 
came upon the bed of water-lilies from which the trophies 
of yesterday had been gathered. The leaves were very 
large, many of them from four to five feet in diameter ; 
but, perhaps from having lost their first freshness and 
something therefore of their natural texture, the edge 
of the leaf was scarcely perceptibly raised, and in most 
instances lay perfectly flat upon the water. We found 
buds, but no perfect flower. In the afternoon, however, 
one of the daughters of our fisherman Maia, hearing that 
we wished to see one of the flowers, brought us a very 
perfect specimen from another more distant locality, which 
we had not time to visit. The Indians, by the way, have 
a characteristic name for the leaf. They call it " forno," 
on account of its resemblance to the immense shallow 
pans in which they bake their farinha over the mandioca 
ovens. The Victoria regia, with its formidable armor 
of spines, its gigantic leaves, and beautiful flowers, deep- 
ening in color from the velvety white outer leaves through 
every shade of rose to deepest crimson, and fading again 
to a creamy, yellowish tint in the heart of the flower, 
has been described so often that I hardly dare dwell 
upon it, for fear of wearying the reader. And yet we 
could not see it growing in its native waters — a type, 



356 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



as it were, of the luxuriance of tropical nature — without 
the deepest interest. Wonderful as it is when seen in 
the tank of a greenhouse, and perhaps even more im- 
pressive, in a certain sense, from its isolation, in its 
own home it has the charm of harmony with all that 
surrounds it, — with the dense mass of forest, with palm 
and parasite, with birds of glowing plumage, with insects 
of all bright and wonderful tints, and with fishes which, 
though hidden in the water beneath it, are not less brilliant 
and varied than the world of life above. I do not remember 
to have seen an allusion, in any description, to the beautiful 
device by which the whole immense surface of the adult 
leaf is contained within the smaller dimensions of the 
young one ; though it is well worth notice, as one of 
the neatest specimens of Nature's packing. All know the 
heavy scaffolding of ribs by which the colossal leaf, when 
full grown, is supported on its under side. In the young 
leaf these ribs are comparatively small, but the whole green 
expanse of the adult leaf is gathered in between them in 
regular rows of delicate puffings. At this period, the leaf 
is far below the surface of the water, growing slowly up 
from the base of the stock from which it springs. Thus 
drawn up, it has the form of a deep cup or vase ; but 
in proportion as the ribs grow, their ramifications stretch- 
ing in every direction, the leaf lets out one by one ' its 
little folds, to fill the ever-widening spaces ; till at last, 
when it reaches the surface of the water, it rests hori- 
zontally above it, without a wrinkle. Mr. Agassiz caused 
several stocks to be dragged up from the bottom (no 
easy matter, on account of the spines), and found the 
leaf-buds just starting between the roots, — little white 
caps, not more than half an inch in height. There was 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



357 



another lily growing in this lake, which, though diminu- 
tive by the side of the Victoria, would be a giant among 
our water-lilies. The leaf measured more than a foot in di- 
ameter, and was slightly scolloped around the edge. There 
were no open flowers, but the closed buds resembled those 
of our common white water-lilies, and were no larger. 
The stalk and ribs, unlike those of the Victoria, were 
quite smooth, and free from thorns. After our visit to 
the lilies, we paddled in among the trees along the over- 
flowed margin of the lake, in order that the boatmen 
might cut down several palms new to us. While waiting 
under the trees in the boat, we had cause to admire the 
variety and beauty of the insects fluttering about us ; the 
large blue butterflies (Morpho), and the brilliant dragon- 
flies, with crimson bodies and burnished wings, glittering 
with metallic lustre.* 

January 21st. — Obydos. We left Villa Bella yesterday 
with a large collection of fishes, and some valuable additions 
to the collection of palms. The general character of the 
fish collections, both from the river Ramos and the Lago 
Maximo, shows the faunae to be the same now as when we 
were here five months ago. Certainly, during this inter- 
val, migration has had no perceptible influence upon the 
distribution of life in these waters. Leaving Villa Bella at 
night, we reached Obydos early this morning. This pretty 
town is one of the most picturesque in position, on the 

* During my short stay in the neighborhood of Villa Bella and Obydos I was 
indebted to several residents of these towns for assistance in collecting ; espe- 
cially to Padre Torquato and to Padre Antonio Mattos. My friend, Mr. Hono- 
rio, who accompanied me to this point, with the assistance of the Delegado, at 
Villa Bella, made also a very excellent collection of fishes in this vicinity. At 
Obydos Colonel Bentos contributed a very large collection of fishes from the 
Rio Trombetas. — L. A. 



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A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Amazons. It stands on a steep bluff, commanding an exten- 
sive view of the river west and east, and is one of the few 
points at which the southern and northern shores are seen 
at the same time. The bluff of Obydos is crowned by a 
fortress, which has stood here for many years without 
occasion to test its power. It may be doubted whether it 
would be very effectual in barring the river against a hostile 
force, inasmuch as its guns, though they carry perfectly 
well to the opposite side, are powerless nearer home. The 
slope of the cliff on which the fortress stands intervenes 
between it and the water below, so that by keeping well in 
to shore the enemy could pass with impunity immediately 
under the guns. The hill consists entirely of the same red 
drift so constantly recurring on the banks of the Amazons 
and its tributaries. Here it is more full of pebbles than at 
Manaos or at Teffe ; and we saw these pebbles disposed in 
lines or horizontal beds, such as are found in the same de- 
posit along the coast and in the neighborhood of Rio. The 
city of Obydos is prettily laid out, its environs are very 
picturesque, its soil extremely fertile ; but it has the same 
aspect of neglect and hopeless inactivity so painfully strik- 
ing in all the Amazonian towns. 

January 23d. Yesterday, in the early morning, we 
arrived at Santarem, and went on shore for a walk at half 
past seven. The town stands on a point of land dividing 
the black waters of the Tapajoz, on the one side, from the 
yellow flood of the Amazons on the other, and has a very 
attractive situation, enhanced by its background of hills 
stretching away to the eastward. Our first visit was to the 
church, fronting on the beach and standing invitingly open. 
We had, however, a special object in entering it. In 1819 
Martius,the naturalist, on his voyage of exploration on the 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



359 



Amazons, since made , famous by his great work on the 
Natural History of Brazil, was wrecked off the town of 
Santarem, and nearly lost his life. In his great danger he 
took a vow to record his gratitude, should he live, by mak- 
ing a gift to the church of Santarem. After his return to 
Europe, he sent from Munich a full-length figure of Christ 
upon the cross, which now hangs against the wall, with a 
simple inscription underneath, telling in a few words the 
story of his peril, his deliverance, and his gratitude. As a 
work of art it has no special value, but it attracts many 
persons to the church who never heard of Martius or his 
famous journey ; and to Mr. Agassiz it was especially inter- 
esting, as connected with the travels and dangers of his old 
friend and teacher. 

After a walk through the town, which is built with more 
care, and contains some houses having more pretensions to 
comfort and elegance than we have seen elsewhere on the 
Amazons, we returned to the ship for breakfast. At a later 
hour we went on a very pleasant canoe excursion to the other 
side of the Tapajoz, again in search of the Victoria regia, 
said to grow in great perfection in this neighborhood. Our 
guide was Senhor Joachim Rodriguez, to whom Mr. 
Agassiz has been indebted for much personal kindness, as 
well as for a very valuable collection made since we stopped 
here on our way up the river, partly by himself and partly 
by his son, a bright boy of some thirteen years of age. 
Crossing to the opposite side of the river, we came upon a 
vast field of coarse, high grass, looking like an extensive 
meadow. To our surprise, the boatmen turned the canoe 
into this green field, and we found ourselves apparently 
navigating the land, for the narrow boat-path was entirely 
concealed by the long reedy grasses and tall mallow-plants 



360 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



with large pink blossoms rising on either side, and com- 
pletely hiding the water below. This marshy, overflowed 
ground, above which the water had a depth of from four to 
six feet, was full of life. As the rowers pushed our canoe 
through the mass of grass and flowers, Mr. Agassiz gathered 
from the blades and stalks all sorts of creatures ; small 
bright-colored toads of several kinds, grasshoppers, beetles, 
dragon-flies, aquatic snails, bunches of eggs, — in short, an 
endless variety of living things, most interesting to the 
naturalist. The harvest was so plentiful that we had only 
to put out our hands and gather it ; the oarsmen, when they 
saw Mr. Agassiz's enthusiasm, became almost as interested 
as he was ; and he had soon a large jar filled with objects 
quite new to him. After navigating these meadows for 
some time, we came upon open water-spaces where the Vic- 
toria regia was growing in great perfection. The speci- 
mens were much finer than those we had seen before in the 
Lago Maximo. One leaf measured five feet and a half in 
diameter, and another five feet, the erect edge being three 
inches and a half in height. A number of leaves grew from 
the same stalk ; and seen thus together they are very beauti- 
ful, the bright rose-color of the outer edge contrasting with 
the vivid green of the inner surface of the leaf. As before, 
there were no open flowers to be seen ; Senhor Rodriguez 
told us that they are cut by the fishermen almost as soon as 
they open. When Mr. Agassiz expressed a wish to get the 
roots, two of our boatmen plunged into the water with an 
alacrity which surprised me, as we had just been told that 
these marshes are the haunts of Jacare's. They took turns 
in diving to dig up the plants, and succeeded in bringing to 
the surface three large stalks, one with a flower-bud. We 
returned well pleased with our row overland. 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



361 



Our live-stock is increasing as we descend the river, and 
we have now quite a menagerie on board ; a number of 
parrots, half a dozen monkeys, two exquisite little deer from 
the region of Monte Ale*gre, and several Agamis, as tame 
and gentle as barn-yard fowls, stepping about the deck with 
graceful, dainty tread, and feeding from the hand. Their 
voices are singularly harsh, however, and out of keeping 
with their pretty looks and ways. Every now and then 
they raise their heads, stretch their long necks, and utter a 
loud, gurgling sound, more like the roll of a drum than the 
note of a bird. Last, but not least, we have a sloth on 
board, the most fascinating of all our pets to me, not cer- 
tainly for his charms, but for his oddities. I am never tired 
of watching him, he looks so deliciously lazy. His head 
sunk in his arms, his whole attitude lax and indifferent, he 
seems to ask only for rest. If you push him, or if, as 
often happens, a passer-by gives him a smart tap to arouse 
him, he lifts his head and drops his arms so slowly, so 
deliberately, that they hardly seem to move, raises his heavy 
lids and lets his large eyes rest upon your face for a moment 
with appealing, hopeless indolence ; then the lids fall softly, 
the head droops, the arms fold heavily about it, and he col- 
lapses again into absolute repose. This mute remonstrance 
is the nearest approach to activity I have seen him make. 
These live animals are not all a part of the scientific collec- 
tions ; many of them belong to the captain and officers. The 
Brazilians are exceedingly fond of pets, and almost every 
house has its monkeys, its parrots, and other tame animals 
and birds. 

January 2Qth. — Monte Aldgre. Leaving Santarem on 
Tuesday we arrived here on Wednesday morning, and, as 
on our former visit, were received most hospitably at the 

16 



362 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



house of Senhor Manuel. Mr. Agassiz and Mr. Coutinho 
have gone on a geologizing excursion to the Serra d'Erere, 
that picturesque range of hills bounding the campos, or 
open sandy plain, to the northwest of the town. They took 
different routes, Major Coutinho, with Captain Paria and one 
or two other friends, crossing the campos on horseback, 
while Mr. Agassiz went by canoe. They will meet at the 
foot of the Serra, and pass two or three days in that neigh- 
borhood. Little is as yet known of the geological structure 
of the Amazonian Serras, — those of Santarem, of Monte 
Alegre, and of Almeyrim. Generally they have been con- 
sidered as prolongations either of the table-land of Guiana 
on the north, or that of Brazil on the south. Mr. Agassiz 
believes them to be independent of both, and more directly 
connected with the formation of the Amazonian Valley itself. 
The solution of this question is his special object, while 
Major Coutinho has taken barometers to determine the 
height of the range. In the mean time, I am passing a few 
quiet days here, learning to be more familiar with the scen- 
ery of a region very justly called one of the most picturesque 
on the borders of the Amazons. Not only are the views ex- 
tensive, but the friable nature of the soil, so easily decom- 
posed, combined with the heavy rains, has led to the forma- 
tion of a variety of picturesque dells and hollows, some of 
which have springs running into them, surrounded by rocky 
banks and overhung with trees. One of these is especially 
pretty ; the excavation is large, and has the form of an am- 
phitheatre ; its rocky walls are crowned with large forest- 
trees, palms, mimosas, etc., making a deep shade ; and at 
one side the spring flows down from the top of the cliff, with 
a pleasant ripple. Here the negro or Indian servants come 
to fill their water-jars. They often have with them the chil- 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



363 



dren under their charge ; and you may sometimes see the 
large red jars standing under the mouth of the spring above, 
while white babies and dark nurses splash about in the cool 
water-basin below. Although in the campos the growth is 
low, and the soil but scantily covered with coarse grass and 
shrubs, yet, in some localities, and especially in the neighbor- 
hood of the town, the forest is beautiful. We have seen no- 
where larger and more luxuriant mimosas, sometimes of a 
green so rich and deep, and a foliage so close that it is dif- 
ficult to believe, at a distance, that its dense mass is formed 
by the light, pinnate leaves of a sensitive plant. The palms 
are also very lofty and numerous, including some kinds 
which we have not met before. 

January 28th. — Yesterday our kind host arranged an 
excursion into the country, for my especial pleasure, that I 
might see something of the characteristic amusements of 
Monte Alegre. One or two neighbors joined us, and the 
children, a host of happy little folks, for whom anything 
out of the common tenor of every-day life is u festa" were 
not left behind. We started on foot to walk out into a very 
picturesque Indian village called Surubiju. Here we were 
to breakfast, returning afterwards in one of the heavy carts 
drawn by oxen, the only conveyance for women and chil- 
dren in a country where a carriage-road and a side-saddle 
are equally unknown. Our walk was very pleasant, partly 
through the woods, partly through the campos ; but as it was 
early in the day, we did not miss the shade when we chanced 
to leave the trees. We lingered by the wayside, the chil- 
dren stopping to gather wild fruits, of which there were 
a number on the road, and to help me in making a 
collection of plants. It was about nine o'clock when we 
reached the first straw-house, where we stopped to rest. 



364 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Though it has no longer the charm of novelty for me, I am 
always glad to visit an Indian cottage. You find a cordial 
welcome ; the best hammock, the coolest corner, and a cuia 
of fresh water are ready for you. As a general thing, the 
houses of the Indians are also more tidy than those of the 
whites; and there is a certain charm of picturesqueness 
about them which never wears off. 

After a short rest, we went on through the settlement, 
where the sitios are scattered at considerable distances, and 
so completely surrounded by trees that they seem quite iso- 
lated in the forest. Although the Indians are said to be a 
lazy people, and are unquestionably fitful and irregular in 
their habits of work, in almost all these houses some charac- 
teristic occupation was going on. In two or three the women 
were making hammocks, in one a boy was plaiting the leaves 
of the Curua palm into a tolda for his canoe, in another the 
inmates were making a coarse kind of pottery ; and in still an- 
other a woman, who is quite famous in the neighborhood for 
her skill in the art, was painting cuias. It was the first time 
I had seen the prepared colors made from a certain kind of 
clay found in the Serra. It is just the carnival season, and, as 
every one has a right to play pranks on his neighbors, we did 
not get off without making a closer acquaintance than was 
altogether pleasant with the rustic artist's colors. As we 
were leaving the cottage, she darted out upon us, her hands 
full of blue and red paints. If they had been tomahawks, 
they could not have produced a more sudden rout ; and 
it was a complete sauve qui pent of the whole company 
across the little bridge which led to the house. As a 
stranger, I was spared ; but all were not fortunate enough 
to escape, and some of the children carried their blue and 
red badges to the end of the day. 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



365 



The prettiest of all these forest sitios was one at the bot- 
tom of a deep dell, reached by a steep, winding path through 
a magnificent wood abounding in palms. But though the 
situation was most picturesque, the sickly appearance of the 
children and the accounts of prevailing illness showed that 
the locality was too low and damp to be healthful. After a 
very pleasant ramble we returned to breakfast at our first 
resting-place, and at about one o'clock started for town in 
two ox-carts which had come out to meet us. They consist 
only of a floor set on very heavy, creaking wooden wheels, 
which, from their primitive, clumsy character, would seem 
to be the first wheels ever invented. On the floor a straw- 
mat was spread, an awning was stretched over a light 
scaffolding above, and we were soon stowed away in our 
primitive vehicle, and had a very gay and pleasant ride back 
to town. Yesterday evening Mr. Agassiz returned from his 
excursion to the Serra Erere*. I add here a little account 
of the journey, written out from his notes, and containing 
some remarks on the general aspect of the country, its vege- 
tation and animals. A summary of the geological results 
of the excursion will be found in a separate chapter at the 
close of our Amazonian journey. 

" I started before daylight ; but as the dawn began to 
redden the sky large flocks of ducks, and of the small 
Amazonian goose, might be seen flying towards the lakes. 
Here and there a cormorant sat alone on the branch of a 
• dead tree, or a kingfisher poised himself over the water, 
watching for his prey. Numerous gulls were gathered 
in large companies on the trees along the river-shore ; 
alligators lay on its surface, diving with a sudden plash 
at the approach of our canoe ; and occasionally a porpoise 
emerged from the water, showing himself for a moment 



866 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



and then disappearing again. Sometimes we startled a 
herd of capivaras, resting on the water's edge ; and once 
we saw a sloth, sitting upon the branch of an Imbauba 
tree (Cecropia), rolled up in its peculiar attitude, the 
very picture of indolence, with its head sunk between its 
arms. Much of the river-shore consisted of low, alluvial 
land, and was covered with that peculiar and beautiful 
grass known as Capim ; this grass makes an excellent 
pasturage for cattle, and the abundance of it in this 
region renders the district of Monte Alegre very favor- 
able for agricultural purposes. Here and there, where 
the red-clay soil rose above the level of the water, a 
palm-thatched cabin stood on the low bluff, with a few 
trees about it. Such a house was usually the centre of 
a cattle-farm, and large herds might be seen grazing in 
the adjoining fields. Along the river-banks, where the 
country is chiefly open, with extensive low, marshy 
grounds, the only palm to be seen is the Maraja (Geonoma). 
After keeping along the Rio Gurupatuba for some distance, 
we turned to the right into a narrow stream, which has 
the character of an igarape* in its lower course, though 
higher up it drains the country between the serra of 
Erere* and that of Tajury, and assumes the appearance 
of a small river. It is named after the serra, and is 
known as the Rio Erere*. This stream, narrow and pic- 
turesque, and often so overgrown with capim that the 
canoe pursued its course with difficulty, passed through 
a magnificent forest of the beautiful fan-palm, called the 
Miriti (Mauritia flexuosa). This forest stretched for miles, 
overshadowing, as a kind of underbrush, many smaller trees 
and innumerable shrubs, some of which bore bright, con- 
spicuous flowers. It seemed to me a strange spectacle, — 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



367 



a forest of monocotyledonous trees with a dicotyledonous 
undergrowth ; the inferior plants thus towering above and 
sheltering the superior ones. Among the lower trees were 
many Leguminosae, — one of the most striking, called Fava, 
having a colossal pod. The whole mass of vegetation was 
woven together by innumerable lianas and creeping vines, 
in the midst of which the flowers of the Bignonia, with 
its open, trumpet-shaped corolla, were conspicuous. The 
capim was bright with the blossoms of the mallow, grow- 
ing in its midst ; and was often edged with the broad-leaved 
Aninga, a large aquatic Arum. 

" Through such a forest, where the animal life was no 
less rich and varied than the vegetation, our boat glided 
slowly for hours. The number and variety of birds struck 
me with astonishment. The coarse, sedgy grasses on either 
side were full of water birds, one of the most common of 
which was a small chestnut-brown wading bird, the Jagana 
(Parra), whose toes are immensely long in proportion to its 
size, enabling it to run upon the surface of the aquatic vege- 
tation, as if it were solid ground. It was now the month 
of January, their breeding season ; and at every turn of 
the boat we started them up in pairs. Their flat, open 
nests generally contained five flesh-colored eggs, streaked 
in zigzag with dark brown lines. The other waders were 
a snow-white heron, another ash-colored, smaller species, 
and a large white stork. The ash-colored herons were 
always in pairs ; the white ones always single, standing 
quiet and alone on the edge of the water, or half hidden 
in the green capim. The trees and bushes were full of 
small warbler-like birds, which it would be difficult to 
characterize separately. To the ordinary observer they 
might seem like the small birds of our woods ; but there 



368 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



was one species among them which attracted my attention 
by its numbers, and also because it builds the most ex- 
traordinary nest, considering the size of the bird itself, 
that I have ever seen. It is known among the country 
people by two names, as the Pedreiro or the Forneiro ; 
both names referring, as will be seen, to the nature of 
its habitation. This singular nest is built of clay, and 
is as hard as stone (pedra), while it has the form of the 
round mandioca oven (forno) in which the country people 
prepare their farinha, or flour, made from the mandioca 
root. It is about a foot in diameter, and stands edgewise 
upon a branch, or in the crotch of a tree. Among the 
smaller birds I noticed bright Tanagers, and also a species 
resembling the Canary. Besides these, there were the 
wagtails ; the black and white widow-finches ; the hang- 
nests, or Japi, as they are called here, with their pen- 
dent, bag-like dwellings, and the familiar " Bern ti vi." 
Humming-birds, which we are always apt to associate with 
tropical vegetation, were very scarce. I saw but a few 
specimens. Thrushes and doves were more frequent, and 
I noticed also three or four kinds of woodpeckers, beside 
parrots and paroquets ; of these latter there were countless 
numbers along our canoe path, flying overhead in dense 
crowds, and at times drowning every other sound in their 
high, noisy chatter. 

" Some of these birds made a deep impression upon me. 
Indeed, in all regions, however far away from his own home, 
in the midst of a fauna and flora entirely new to him, the 
traveller is startled occasionally by the song of a bird or the 
sight of a flower so familiar that it transports him at once 
to woods where every tree is like a friend to him. It seems 
as if something akin to what in our own mentaf experience 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



369 



we call reminiscence or association existed in the workings 
of Nature ; for though the organic combinations are so dis- 
tinct in different climates and countries, they never wholly 
exclude each other. Every zoological and botanical prov- 
ince retains some link which binds it to all the others, and 
makes it part of the general harmony. The Arctic lichen 
is found growing under the shadow of the palm on the 
rocks of the tropical serra ; and the song of the thrush and 
the tap of the woodpecker mingle with the sharp, discord- 
ant cries of the parrot and paroquet. 

" Birds of prey, also, were not wanting. Among them was 
one about the size of our kite, and called the Red Hawk, 
which was so tame that, even when our canoe passed im- 
mediately under the low branch on which he was sitting, he 
did not fly away. But, of all the groups of birds, the most 
striking as compared with corresponding groups in the tem- 
perate zone, and the one which reminded me the most dis- 
tinctly of the fact that every region has its peculiar animal 
world, was that of the gallinaceous birds. The most fre- 
quent is the Cigana, to be seen in groups of fifteen or twenty, 
perched upon trees overhanging the water, and feeding upon 
berries. At night they roost in pairs, but in the daytime 
are always in larger companies. In their appearance they 
have something of the character of both the pheasant and 
peacock, and yet do not closely resemble either. It .is a 
curious fact, that, with the exception of some small par- 
tridge-like gallinaceous birds, all the representatives of this 
family in Brazil, and especially in the valley of the Ama- 
zons, belong to types which do not exist in other parts of 
the world. Here we find neither pheasants, nor cocks of the 
woods, nor grouse ; but in their place abound the Mutum, 
the Jacu, the Jacami, and the Unicorn (Crax, Penelope, 
16* x 



370 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Psophia, and Palamedea), all of which are so remote from 
the gallinaceous types found farther north that they remind 
one quite as much of the bustard, and other ostrich -like 
birds, as of the hen and pheasant. They differ also from 
northern gallinaceous birds in the greater uniformity of the 
sexes, none of them exhibiting those striking differences 
between the males and females which we see in the pheas- 
ants, the cocks of the woods, and in our barn-yard fowls, 
though the plumage of the young has the yellowish-mottled 
color distinguishing the females of most species of this fam- 
ily. While birds abounded in such numbers, insects were 
rather scarce. I saw but few and small butterflies, and 
beetles were still more rare. The most numerous insects 
were the dragon-flies, — some with crimson bodies, black 
heads, and burnished wings ; others with large green 
bodies, crossed by blue bands. Of land-shells I saw but 
one, creeping along the reeds ; and of water-shells I gath- 
ered only a few small Ampullariae. 

" Having ascended the river to a point nearly on a line 
with the serra, I landed, and struck across the campos on 
foot. Here I entered upon an entirely different region, — a 
dry, open plain, with scanty vegetation. The most promi- 
nent plants were clusters of Cacti and Curua palms, a kind 
of stemless, low palm, with broad, elegant leaves springing 
vase-like from the ground. In these dry, sandy fields, ris- 
ing gradually toward the serra, I observed in the deeper 
gullies formed by the heavy rains the laminated clays which 
are everywhere the foundation of the Amazonian strata. 
They here presented again so much the character of ordi- 
nary clay-slates that I thought I had at last come upon 
some old geological formation. Instead of this I only ob- 
tained fresh evidence that, by baking them, the burning sun 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



371 



of the tropics may produce upon laminated clays of recent 
origin the same effect as plutonic agencies have produced 
upon the ancient clays, — that is, it may change them into 
metamorphic slates. As I approached the serra, I was 
again reminded how, under the most dissimilar circum- 
stances, similar features recur everywhere in nature. I 
came suddenly upon a little creek, bordered with the usual 
vegetation of such shallow watercourses, and on its brink 
stood a sand-piper, which flew away at my approach, utter- 
ing its peculiar cry, so like what we hear at home that, 
had I not seen him, I should have recognized him by his 
voice. After an hour's walk under the scorching sun, I 
was glad to find myself at the hamlet of Erere, near the 
foot of the serra, where I rejoined my companions. This 
is almost the only occasion in all my Amazonian journey 
when I have passed a day in the pure enjoyment of nature, 
without the labor of collecting, which in this hot climate, 
where specimens require such immediate and constant at- 
tention, is very great. I learned how rich a single day may 
be in this wonderful tropical world, if one's eyes are only 
open to the wealth of animal and vegetable life. Indeed, a 
few hours so spent in the field, in simply watching animals 
and plants, teaches more of the distribution of life than a 
month of closet study ; for under such circumstances all 
things are seen in their true relations. Unhappily, it is not 
easy to present the picture as a whole ; for all our written de- 
scriptions are more or less dependent on nomenclature, and 
the local names are hardly known out of the districts where 
they belong, while systematic names are familiar to few." 

January 2>0th. — On board the "Ibicuhy." Yesterday 
we parted from our kind hosts, and bade good by to Monte 
Aldgre. I shall long retain a picture, half pleasant, half sad, 



372 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



of its shady, picturesque walks and dells ; of its wide green 
square, with the unfinished cathedral in the centre, where 
trees and vines mantle the open doors and windows, and 
grass grows thick over the unfrequented aisles ; of its neg- 
lected cemetery, and the magnificent view it commands over 
an endless labyrinth of lakes on one side, beyond which 
glitter the yellow waters of the Amazons, while, on the other, 
the level campos is bordered by the picturesque heights of 
the distant Serra. I have never been able to explain quite to 
my own satisfaction the somewhat melancholy impression 
which this region, lovely as it unquestionably is, made upon 
me when I first saw it, — an impression not wholly destroyed 
by a longer residence. Perhaps it is the general aspect of 
incompleteness and decay, the absence of energy and enter- 
prise, making the lavish gifts of Nature of no avail. In the 
midst of a country which should be overflowing with agri- 
cultural products, neither milk, nor butter, nor cheese, 
nor vegetables, nor fruit, are to be had. You constantly 
hear people complaining of the difficulty of procuring even 
the commonest articles of domestic consumption, when, in 
fact, they ought to be produced by every land-owner. The 
agricultural districts in Brazil are rich and fertile, but there 
is no agricultural population. The nomad Indian, floating 
about in his canoe, the only home to which he has a genuine 
attachment, never striking root in the soil, has no genius 
for cultivating the ground. As an illustration of the Indian 
character, it may not be amiss to record an incident which 
occurred yesterday when we were leaving Monte Ale*gre. On 
his journey to Erere, Major Coutinho had been requested by 
an Indian and his wife, whose acquaintance he had made in 
former excursions there, to take one of their boys, a child 
about eight years of age, with him to Rio. This is very com- 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



373 



mon among the Indians ; they are not unwilling to give up 
their children, if they can secure a maintenance for them, 
and perhaps some advantages of education besides. On the 
day of departure, the mother and father and two sisters 
accompanied the child to the steamer, but I think, as the 
sequel showed, rather for the sake of seeing the ship, and 
having a day of amusement, than from any sentiment about 
parting with the child. When the moment of separation 
came, the mother, with an air of perfect indifference, gave the 
little boy her hand to kiss. The father seemed to be going 
off without remembering his son at all ; but the little fellow 
ran after him, took his hand and kissed it, and then stood 
crying and broken-hearted on the deck, while the whole 
family put off in the canoe, talking and laughing gayly, 
without showing him the least sympathy. Such traits are 
said to be very characteristic of the Indians. They are 
cold in their family affections ; and though the mothers are 
very fond of their babies, they seem comparatively indiffer- 
ent to them as they grow up. It is, indeed, impossible to 
rely upon the affection of an Indian, even though isolated 
cases of remarkable fidelity have been known among them. 
But I have been told over and over again, by those who 
have had personal experience in the matter, that you may 
take an Indian child, bring him up, treat him with every 
kindness, educate him, clothe him, and find him to be a 
useful and seemingly faithful member of the household ; one 
day he is gone, you know not where, and in every proba- 
bility you will never hear of him again. Theft is not one 
of their vices. On the contrary, such an Indian, if he 
deserts the friend who has reared him and taken care of 
him, is very likely to leave behind him all his clothes, except 
those he has on, and any presents he may have received. 



374 



A JOUKNEY IN BRAZIL. 



The only thing he may be tempted to take will be a canoe 
and a pair of oars : with these an Indian is rich. He only 
wants to get back to his woods ; and he is deterred by no 
sentiment of affection, or consideration of interest. 

To-day we are passing the hills of Almeyrim. The last 
time we saw them it was in the glow of a brilliant sunset ; 
to-day, ragged edges of clouds overhang them, and they aie 
sombre under a leaden, rainy sky. It is delightful to Mr. 
Agassiz, in returning to this locality, to find that phenomena, 
which were a blank to him on our voyage up the river, are 
perfectly explicable now that he has had an opportunity of 
studying the geology of the Amazonian Valley. When we 
passed these singular flat-topped hills before, he had no clew 
to their structure or their age, — whether granite, as they have 
been said to be, or sandstone or limestone ; whether primi- 
tive, secondary, or tertiary : and their strange form made the 
problem still more difficult. Now he sees them simply as 
the remnants of a plain which once filled the whole valley of 
the Amazons, from the Andes to the Atlantic, from Guiana 
to Central Brazil. Denudations on a colossal scale, hitherto 
unknown to geologists, have turned this plain into a laby- 
rinth of noble rivers, leaving only here and there, where the 
formation has resisted the rush of waters, low mountains 
and chains of hills to tell what was its thickness.* 

February 1st. — On Tuesday evening we reached Porto do 
Moz, on the river Xingu, where we had expected to be de- 
tained several days, as Mr. Agassiz wished especially to 
obtain the fishes from this river, and, if possible, from its 
upper and lower course, between which rapids intervene. 
He found, however, his harvest ready to his hand. Senhor 
Yinhas, with whom, when stopping here for a few hours on 

* Sec Chapter XIII., on the Physical History of the Amazons. 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



375 



his voyage up the river, he had had some conversation respect- 
ing the scientific objects of his visit to the Amazons, has made 
during our absence one of the finest collections obtained in 
the whole course of our journey, containing, in separate lots, 
the fishes from above and below the cascade. By means of 
this double collection, which Mr. Agassiz has already exam- 
ined carefully, he ascertains the fact that the faunae on either 
side of the falls are entirely distinct from each other, as are 
those of the upper and lower courses of the Amazons, and also 
those of its tributaries, lakes, and igarapes. This is a most 
important addition to the evidence already obtained of the 
distinct localization of species throughout the waters of the 
Amazonian Valley. We regretted that, on account of the 
absence of Senor Vinhas from the town, we could not thank 
him in person for this valuable contribution. Finding that the 
efforts of this gentleman had really left nothing to be done 
in this locality, unless, indeed, we could have stayed long 
enough to make collections in all the water-basins connected 
with the Xingu, we left early in the morning and reached 
Gurupa yesterday. This little town stands on a low cliff 
some thirty feet above the river. On a projecting point of 
this cliff there is an old, abandoned fort ; and in the open 
place adjoining it stands a church of considerable size, and 
seemingly in good repair. But the settlement is evidently 
not prosperous. Many of its houses are ruinous and de- 
serted, and there is even less of activity in the aspect of the 
place than in most of the Amazonian villages. We heard 
much of its insalubrity, and found very severe cases of inter- 
mittent fever in one or two of the houses we entered. While 
Mr. Agassiz made a call upon the subdelegado, who was 
himself confined to his room with fever, I was invited to rest 
in the open veranda of a neighboring house, which looked 



376 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



pretty and attractive enough ; for it opened into a sunny 
garden, where bananas and oranges and palm-trees were 
growing. But the old woman who received me complained 
bitterly of the dampness, to which, indeed, her hoarse cough 
and rheumatism bore testimony ; and a man was lying in his 
hammock, slung under the porch, who was worn to mere 
skin and bone with fever. Here also we received some 
valuable specimens, collected, since our previous visit, by 
the subdelegado and one or two other residents. 

February 3c?. — On Thursday we reached Taj apuru, where 
we were detained for two days on account of some little re 
pair needed on the steamer. The place is interesting as 
showing what may be done on the Amazons in a short 
time by enterprise and industry. A settler in these regions 
may, if he has the taste and culture to appreciate it, sur- 
round himself with much that is attractive in civilized life. 
Some seventeen years ago Senhor Sepeda established him- 
self at this spot, then a complete wilderness. He has now 
a very large and pleasant country-house, with a garden in 
front and walks in the forest around. The interior of the 
house is commodious and tasteful ; and we could not but 
wish, while we enjoyed Senhor Sepeda's hospitality, that his 
example might be followed, and that there might be many 
such homes on the banks of the Amazons. This morning 
we are again on our way down the river. 

February 4,th. — We reached Pard to-day, parting, not 
without regret, from the " Ibicuhy," on board of which we 
have spent so many pleasant weeks. Before we left the 
vessel, Captain Faria ordered the carpenter to take down 
our little pavilion on deck. It had been put up for our 
accommodation, and had served as our dining-room and 
our working-room, our shelter from the sun, and our snug 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



377 



retreat in floods of rain.* On arriving in Para we found 
ourselves at once at home in the house of our kind friend, 
Senhor Pimenta Bueno, where we look forward to a pleasant 
rest from our wanderings. I insert here a letter to the 
Emperor, written two or three weeks later, and containing 
a short summary of the scientific work on the Amazons. 

Para, 23 Fevrier, 1866. 

Sire : — En arrivant a Para, au commencement de ce 
mois j'ai eu le bonheur d'y trouver 1'excellente lettre 
de Votre Majeste, qui m'attendait depuis quelques jours. 
J'aurais du y repondre immediatement ; mais je n'etais 
pas en etat de le faire, tant j'etais accable de fatigue. II 
y a trois ou quatre jours seulement que je commence de 
nouveau a m'occuper de mes affaires. J'avouerai meme 
que le pressentiment des regrets qui m'auraient poursuivi 
le reste de mes jours m'a seul empeche de retourner di- 
rectement aux Etats-Unis. Aujourd'hui encore j'ai de 
la peine a vaquer aux occupations les plus simples. Et 
cependant je ne suis pas malade ; je suis seulement epuise 
par un travail incessant et par la contemplation tous les 
jours plus vive et plus impressive des grandeurs et des beau- 
te*s de cette nature tropicale. J'aurais besoin pour quelque 
temps de la vue monotone et sombre d'une foret de sapins. 

Que vous etes bon, Sire, de penser a moi au milieu des 
affaires vitales qui absorbent votre attention et combien 
vos procedes sont pleins de delicatesse. Le cadeau de 
nouvel-an que vous m'annoncez m'enchante. La perspec- 

* It is but fitting that I should express here my thanks to Captain Faria 
for the courteous manner in which he accomplished the task assigned him by 
the government. He was not only a most hospitable host on board his vessel, 
but he allowed me to encumber his deck with all kinds of scientific apparatus, 
and gave me very efficient assistance in collecting. — L. A. 



378 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



tive de pouvoir ajouter quelques coniparaisons des poissons 
du bassin de l'Uruguay a celles que j'ai deja faites des 
especes de FAmazone et des fleuves de la c6te orientale 
du Bre'sil a un attrait tout particulier. Ce sera le premier 
pas vers la connaissance des types de la zone temperee dans 
1'Amerique du Sud. Aussi est-ce avec une impatience 
croissante que je vois venir le moment ou je pourrai les 
examiner. En attendant, permettez-moi de vous donner 
un apergu rapide des resultats obtentis jusqu'a ce jour 
dans le voyage de l'Amazone. 

Je ne reviendrai pas sur ce qu'il y a de surprenant dans 
la grande variete des especes de poissons de ce bassin, bien 
qu'il me soit encore difficile de me familiariser avec l'idee 
que FAmazone nourrit a peu-pres deux fois plus d'especes 
que la Mediterranne'e et un nombre plus considerable que 
l'Ocean Atlantique d'un pole a l'autre. Je ne puis ce- 
pendant plus dire avec la meme precision quel est le 
nombre exact d'especes de l'Amazone que nous nous 
sommes procurees, parceque depuis que je reviens sur mes 
pas, en descendant le grand fleuve, je vois des poissons prets 
a frayer que j'avais vus dans d'autres circonstances et 
vice versa*, et sans avoir recours aux collections que j'ai 
faites il y a six mois et qui ne me sont pas accessibles 
aujourd'hui, il m'est souvent impossible de determiner de 
me'moire si ce sont les memes especes ou d'autres qui 
m'avaient e'chappe lors de mon premier examen. J'estime 
cependant que le nombre total des especes que je possede 
actuellement depasse dix-huit cents et atteint peut-etre 
a deux mille. Mais ce n'est pas seulement le nombre des 
especes qui surprendra les naturalistes ; le fait qu'elles 
sont pour la plupart circonscrites dans des limites re- 
streintes est bien plus surprenant encore et ne laissera 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



379 



pas que d'avoir une influence directe sur les idees qui 
se repandent de nos jours sur l'origine des etres vivants. 
Que dans un fleuve comme le Mississippi, qui, du Nord 
au Sud, passe successivement par les zones froide, tem- 
peree et chaude, qui roule ses eaux tant6t sur une for- 
mation ge'ologique, tantot sur une autre, et traverse des 
plaines couvertes au Nord d'une vegetation presque arc- 
tique et au Sud d'une flore subtropicale, — que dans un 
pareil bassin on rencontre des especes d'animaux aqua- 
tiques differentes, sur differents points de son trajet, c,a 
se comprend des qu'on s'est habitue a envisager les con- 
ditions gene'rales d'existence et le climat en particulier 
comme la cause premiere de la diversite que les ani- 
maux et les plantes offrent entre eux, dans les differentes 
localites ; mais que, de Tabatinga au Par&, dans un fleuve 
ou les eaux ne varient ni par leur temperature, ni par 
la nature de leur lit, ni par la vegetation qui les borde, 
que dans de pareilles circonstances on rencontre, de dis- 
tance en distance, des assemblages de poissons completement 
distincts les uns des autres, c'est ce qui a lieu d'etonner. 
Je dirai meme que dorenavant cette distribution, qui peut 
etre verifiee par quiconque voudra s'en donner la peine, 
doit jeter beaucoup de doute sur l'opinion qui attribue 
la diversite des etres vivants aux influences locales. 

Un autre cote de ce sujet, encore plus curieux peut-etre, ' 
est l'intensite avec laquelle la vie s'est manifested dans 
ces eaux. Tous les fleuves de l'Europe reunis, depuis le 
Tage jusqu'au Yolga, ne nourissent pas cent cinquante es- 
peces de poissons d'eau douce ; et cependant, dans un petit 
lac des environs de Manaos, nomme Lago Hyanuary, qui a 
a peine quatre ou cinq-cents metres carres de surface, 
nous avons decouvert plus de deux-cents especes dis- 



380 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



tinctes, dont la plupart n'ont pas encore e*te* observers 
ailleurs. Quel contraste ! 

L' etude du melange des races humaines qui se croisent 
dans ces regions m'a aussi beaucoup occupe* et je me suis 
procure de nombreuses photographies de tous les types 
que j'ai pu observer. Le principal re*sultat auquel je suis 
arrive* est que les races se comportent les unes vis-a-vis 
des autres comme des especes distinctes ; c. a. d. que les hy- 
brides qui naissent du croisement d'hommes de race diffe- 
rente sont toujours un melange des deux types primitifs 
et jamais la simple reproduction des caracteres de l'un ou 
de l'autre des progeniteurs, comme c'est le cas pour les 
races d'animaux domestiques. 

Je ne dirai rien de mes autres collections qui ont pour 
la plupart etc* faites par mes jeunes compagnons de voyage, 
plutot en vue d'enrichir notre musee que de resoudre 
quelques questions scientifiques. Mais je ne saurais laisser 
passer cette occasion sans exprimer ma vive reconnaissance 
pour toutes les facilites que j'ai dues a la bienveillance de 
Votre Majesty, dans mes explorations. Depuis le President 
jusqu'au plus humbles employes des provinces que j'ai par- 
courues, tous ont rivalise d'empressement pour me faciliter 
mon travail et la Compagnie des vapeurs de l'Amazoiie a 
ete d'une libe*ralite extreme a mon egard. Enfin, Sire, la 
ge'ne'rosite avec laquelle vous avez fait mettre un navire de 
guerre a, ma disposition m'a permis de faire des collections 
qui seraient reste'es inaccessibles pour moi, sans un moyen 
de transport aussi vaste et aussi rapide. Permettez-moi 
d'ajouter que de toutes les faveurs dont Yotre Majeste m'a 
comble pour ce voyage, la plus prdcieuse a etc* la presence 
du Major Coutinho, dont la familiarity avec tout ce qui re- 
garde l'Amazoiie a ete* une source intarissable de renseigne- 



DOWN THE AMAZONS. 



881 



ments importants et de directions utiles pour eViter des 
courses oiseuses et la perte d'un temps precieux. L'e'ten- 
due des connaissances de Coutinho, en ce qui touche l'Ama- 
zone, est vraiment encycopedique, et je crois que ce serait 
un grand service a rendre a la science que de lui fournir 
l'occasion de rediger et de publier tout ce qu'il a observe* 
pendant ses visites re*pe*te*es et prolonge'es dans cette partie 
de l'Empire. Sa cooperation pendant ce dernier voyage 
a e'te des plus laborieuses ; il s'est mis a la zoologie comme 
si les sciences physiques n'avaient pas e'te* l'objet special 
de ses etudes, en meme temps qu'il a fait par devers lui de 
nombreuses observations thermometriques, barometriques, 
et astronomiques, qui ajouteront de bons jalons a ce que 
Ton possede deja sur la meteorologie et la topographie de 
ces provinces. C'est ainsi que nous avons les premiers 
porte* le barometre au milieu des collines d'Almeyrim, de 
Monte Alegre, et d'Erere et mesure leurs sommets les 
plus Aleves. 

L'dtude de la formation de la vallee de l'Amazone 
m'a naturellement occupe, bien que se*condairement, d£s 
le premier jour que je l'ai abordee. 

Mais il est temps que je finisse cette longue e*pitre en 
demandant pardon a Votre Majeste* d'avoir mis sa pa- 
tience a une aussi rude epreuve. 

De Votre Majeste* le serviteur le plus deVoue* et le plus 
affectueux, 

L. Agassiz.* 

* Par!, February 23, 1866. 
Sire : — On arriving at Para in the beginning of this month, I had the 
pleasure to find yonr Majesty's kind letter, which had been awaiting me for 
several days. I ought to have acknowledged it immediately, but I was not in 
a condition to do so, being overcome by fatigue. It is only during the last 



382 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



February 24ih. — Pard, Nazareth. Our time lias passed 
so quietly here that it gives me nothing to record. Mr. 
Agassiz has found himself in such absolute need of rest, 
after having arranged and put in order for transportation to 

two or three days that I begin once more to occupy myself as usual. I con- 
fess that nothing but the presentiment of regrets which would have pursued 
me to the end of my days has prevented me from returning directly to the 
United States. Even now I find it difficult to take up the most simple oc- 
cupations. And yet I am not ill ; I am only exhausted by incessant work, 
and by the contemplation, each day more vivid and impressive, of the grandeur 
and beauty of this tropical nature. I need to look for a time upon the sombre 
and monotonous aspect of a pine forest. 

How good you are, Sire, to think of me in the midst of the vital affairs 
which absorb your attention, and how considerate are your acts ! The New 
Year's present you announce enchants me.* The prospect of being able 
to add some comparisons of the fishes from the basin of the Uruguay to such 
as I have already made between the Amazonian species and those of the rivers 
on the eastern coast of Brazil has a special attraction for me. It will be the 
first step towards a knowledge of the types of the temperate zone in South 
America. I wait with increasing impatience for the moment when I shall be 
able to examine them. In the mean while allow me to give you a rapid 
sketch of the results thus far obtained in my voyage on the Amazons. 

I will not return to the surprising variety of species of fishes contained in 
this basin, though it is very difficult for me to familiarize myself with the 
idea that the Amazons nourishes nearly twice as many species as the Med- 
iterranean, and a larger number than the Atlantic, taken from one pole to 
the other. I can no longer say, however, with precision, what is the exact 
number of species which we have procured from the Amazons, because, on 
retracing my steps as I descended the great river, I have seen fishes about 
to lay their eggs which I had seen at first under other conditions, and vice 
versa ; and without consulting the collections made six months ago, and which 
are not now accessible to me, it is often impossible for me to determine from 
memory whether they are the same species, or different ones which escaped 
my observation in my first examination. However, I estimate the total 
number of species which I actually possess at eighteen hundred, and it may be 

* The Emperor had written to Mr. Agassiz that, during the time when he 
took command of the Brazilian army on the Rio Grande, he had caused col- 
lections of fishes to be made for him from several of the southern rivers. 



EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 



883 



the United States the collections accumulated, that our in- 
tended trip to the island of Marajo has been postponed day 
after day. Yesterday I witnessed a religious procession in 

two thousand .* But it is not only the number of species which will astonish 
naturalists ; the fact that they are for the most part circumscribed within 
definite limits is still more surprising, and cannot but have a direct influence 
on the ideas now prevalent respecting the origin of living beings. That in a 
river like the Mississippi, which from the north to the south passes successively 
through cold, temperate, and warm zones, — whose waters flow sometimes over 
one geological formation, sometimes over another, and across plains covered 
at the north by an almost arctic vegetation, and at the south by a sub-tropical 
flora, — that in such a basin aquatic animals of different species should be met 
at various points of its course is easily understood by those who are ac- 
customed to consider general conditions of existence, and of climate especially, 
as the first cause of the difference between animals and plants inhabiting sepa- 
rate localities. But that from Tabatinga to Para, in a river where the waters 
differ neither in temperature nor in the nature of their bed, nor in the vegeta- 
tion along their borders, — that under such circumstances there should be met, 
from distance to distance, assemblages of fishes completely distinct from each 
other, is indeed astonishing. I would even say that henceforth this distribution, 
which may be verified by any one who cares to take the trouble, must throw 
much doubt on the opinion which attributes the diversity of living beings to 
local influences. Another side of this subject, still more curious perhaps, is the 
inteusity with which life is manifested in these waters. All the rivers of 
Europe united, from the Tagus to the Volga, do not nourish one hundred and 
fifty species of fresh-water fishes ; and yet, in a little lake near Manaos, called 
Lago Hyanuary, the surface of which covers hardly four or five hundred 
square yards, we have discovered more than two hundred distinct species, the 
greater part of which have not been observed elsewhere. What a contrast ! 

The study of the mixture of human races in this region has also occupied 
me much, and I have procured numerous photographs of all the types which 
I have been able to observe. The principal result at which I have arrived is, 
that the races bear themselves towards each other as do distinct species ; that is 
to say, that the hybrids, which spring from the crossing of men of different 

* To-day I cannot give a more precise account of the final result of my 
survey. Though all my collections are safely stored in the Museum, every 
practical zoologist understands that a critical examination of more than eighty 
thousand specimens cannot be made in less than several years. — L. A. 



384 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Pard, — one of the many festas said to be gradually dying 
out, and to be already shorn of much of their ancient glory. 
It represented a scene from the passion of Christ. The 

races, are always a mixture of the two primitive types, and never the simple re- 
production of the characters of one or the other progenitor, as is the case among 
the races of domestic animals. 

I will say nothing of my other collections, which have been made for the 
most part by my young companions, rather with a view to enrich our Museum 
than to solve scientific questions. But I cannot allow this occasion to pass 
without expressing my lively gratitude for all the facilities, in my explorations, 
which I have owed to the kindness of your Majesty. From the President to 
the most humble employes of the provinces I have visited, all have competed 
with each other to render my work more easy ; and the steamship company of 
the Amazons has shown an extreme liberality towards me. Finally, Sire, the 
generosity with which you have placed at my disposition a vessel of war has 
allowed me to make collections which, with less ample and rapid means of trans- 
port, must have remained utterly inaccessible to me. Permit me to add, that, 
of all the favors with which your Majesty has crowned this voyage, the most 
precious has been the presence of Major Coutinho, whose familiarity with all 
which concerns the Amazons has been an inexhaustible source of important in- 
formation and of useful directions ; by means of which the loss of time in unre- 
munerative excursions has been avoided. His co-operation during this journey 
has been most laborious ; he has applied himself to zoology as if the physical 
sciences had not hitherto been the special object of his study, while at the 
same time he has made numerous thermometric, barometric, and astronomical 
observations, which will furnish important additions to what is already known 
concerning the meteorology and topography of these provinces. We have, for 
instance, been the first to carry the barometer into the midst of the hills of Al- 
meyrim, of Monte Alegre and Erere, and to measure their highest summits. 
The study of the formation of the valley of the Amazons has naturally occu- 
pied me, though in a secondary degree, from the first day of my arrival.* 

But it is time that I should close this long letter, begging your Majesty to 
pardon me for putting your patience to so hard a trial. 

Your Majesty's most humble and most affectionate servant, 

L. Agassiz. 

* The rest of this letter is omitted, as its substance is contained in Chapter 
XIII., on the Physical History of the Amazons. 



EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 



385 



life-size figure of the Saviour, sinking under the cross, is 
borne on a platform through the streets. Little girls, 
dressed as angels, walk before it, and it is accompanied by- 
numerous dignitaries of the Church. Altars are illumi- 
nated in the different churches ; the populace, even down 
to the children, are dressed in black ; and the balconies of 
every house filled with figures in mourning, waiting for the 
sad procession to pass by. 

February 28th. — Off Marajo, in the steamer Tabatinga. 
All great rivers, as the Nile, the Mississippi, the Ganges, the 
Danube, have their deltas ; but the largest river in the 
world, the Amazons, is an exception to this rule. What, 
then, is the geological character of the great island which 
obstructs its opening into the ocean ? This is the question 
which has made a visit to Marajo of special interest to Mr. 
Agassiz. Leaving Par& at midnight, we reached the little 
town of Soures early this morning. It is a village lying on 
the southeastern side of the island, and so far seaward that, 
in the dry season, when the diminished current of the Ama- 
zonian waters is overborne by the tides, the water is salt 
enough to afford excellent sea-bathing, and is resorted to for 
that purpose by many families from Para. At this moment, 
however, the water has not even a brackish character. The 
only building of any interest in the town is the old Jesuit 
church, a remnant of the earliest chapter in the civilization 
of South America. However tinged with ambition and a 
love of temporal power, the work of the Jesuits in Brazil 
tended toward the establishment of an organized system of 
labor, which one cannot but wish had been continued. All 
that remains of the Jesuit missions goes to prove that they 
were centres of industry. These men contrived to impart, 
even to the wandering Indian, some faint reflection of their 

17 T 



386 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



own persistency and steadfastness of purpose. Farms were 
connected with all the Indian missions ; under the direction 
of the fathers, the Indians learned something of agriculture, 
which the Jesuits readily saw to be one of the great civiliz- 
ing influences in a country so fertile. They introduced a 
variety of vegetables and grains, and had herds of cattle 
where cattle now are hardly known. Humboldt, speaking 
of the destruction of the Jesuit missions, says, in reference 
to the Indians of Atures, on the Orinoco : " Formerly, being 
excited to labor by the Jesuits, they did not want for food. 
The fathers cultivated maize, French beans, and other Euro- 
pean vegetables. They even planted sweet oranges and 
tamarinds round the villages ; and they possessed twenty 
or thirty thousand head of cows and horses in the savan- 
nas of Atures and Carichana Since the year 1795, 

the cattle of the Jeruits have entirely disappeared. There 
now remain as monuments of the ancient cultivation of 
these countries, and the active industry of the first mission- 
aries, only a few trunks of the orange and tamarind in the 
savannas, surrounded by wild trees." * 

Our walk through the little village of Soures brought us 
to the low cliffs on the shore, which we had already seen 
from the steamer. The same formations prevail all along 
the coast of this island that we have found everywhere on 
the banks of the Amazons. Lowest, a well-stratified, rather 
coarse sandstone, immediately above which, and conform- 
able with it, are finely laminated clays, covered by a crust. 
Upon this lies the highly ferruginous sandstone, in which 
an irregular cross stratification frequently alternates with 
the regular beds ; above this, following all the undulations 

* Humboldt's Personal Narrative, Bonn's Scientific Library, Vol. II. Chap. 
XX. p. 267. 



EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 



387 



of its surface, is the well-known reddish sandy clay, with 
quartz pebbles scattered through its mass, and only here 
and there faint traces of an indistinct stratification. This 
afternoon Mr. Agassiz has been again on shore, examining 
the formation of both banks of the Igarape* Grande, the 
river at the mouth of which stands the town of Soures. 
He has returned delighted with the result of his day's 
work, having not only obtained the most complete evidence 
that the geological formation of Marajo corresponds ex- 
actly with that of the Amazonian Valley, but having also 
obtained some very important data with respect to the 
present encroachments of the sea upon the shore. He 
found upon the beach, partially covered by sea-sand, the 
remains of a forest which evidently grew in a peat-bog, and 
which the ocean is gradually laying bare. 

February 29£A. — Early this morning we crossed the Pard 
River, and anchored at the entrance of the bay within which 
stands the town of Yigia. We landed, and while the boat- 
men were dragging the net, we wandered along the beach, 
which is bordered by thick forest, now full of flowers. Here 
we found the same geological formations as on the Marajo 
shore, and on the beach the counterpart of the ancient for- 
est which Mr. Agassiz unearthed yesterday on the opposite 
coast. There can hardly be more convincing evidence that 
the rivers which empty into the Amazons near its mouth, 
like all those higher up, as well as the main stream itself, 
have cut their way through identical formations, which 
were once continuous. Evidently these remains of forests 
on the beaches of Yigia Bay and at the mouth of the Iga- 
rape* Grande are parts of one forest, formerly uninterrupted 
and covering the whole of the intervening space now filled 
by the so-called Pard River. We followed the beach to the 



388 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



entrance of an igarape, which here opens into the river, and 
which looked most tempting with the morning shadows 
darkening its cool recesses. As the boatmen had not been 
very successful in fishing, I proposed we should put their 
services to better use and row up this inviting stream. To 
this day, though I have become accustomed to these forest 
water-paths and have had so many excursions in them, 
they have lost none of their charm. I never see one without 
longing to follow its picturesque windings into the depths 
of the wood ; and to me the igarape remains the most 
beautiful and the most characteristic feature of the Ama- 
zonian scenery. This one of Vigia was especially pretty. 
Clumps of the light, exquisitely graceful Assai palm shot 
up everywhere from the denser forest ; here and there 
the drooping bamboo, never seen in the higher Amazons, 
dipped its feathery branches into the water, covered some- 
times to their very tips with purple bloom of convolvulus ; 
yellow Bignonias carried their golden clusters to the very 
summits of some of the more lofty trees ; while white- 
flowering myrtles and orange-colored mallows bordered the 
stream. Life abounded in this quiet retreat. Birds and 
butterflies were numerous ; and we saw an immense num- 
ber of crabs of every variety of color and size upon the 
margin of the water. However, it was not so easy to catch 
them as it seemed. They would sit quietly on the trunks 
of all the old trees or decaying logs projecting from the 
bank, apparently waiting to be taken ; but the moment 
we approached them, however cautiously, they vanished 
like lightning either under the water or into some crevice 
near by. Notwithstanding their nimbleness, however, Mr. 
Agassiz succeeded in making a considerable collection. 
We saw also an immense army of caterpillars, evidently fol- 



EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 



389 



lowing some concerted plan of action. They were descend- 
ing the trunk of a large tree in a solid phalanx about two 
handbreadths in width, and six or eight feet in length; 
no doubt coming down to make their chrysalids in the sand. 
We returned to the steamer at ten o'clock ; and, after break- 
fast, finding our anchorage-ground somewhat rough as the* 
tide came in, we went a little higher up, and entered the 
Bahia do Sul. Here again we went on shore to see the 
net drawn, this time more successfully. We should have 
had a delightful walk on the beach again, had it not been 
for hosts of minute flies which hovered about us, and had 
a power of stinging quite disproportionate to their size. On 
returning we met with an unforeseen difficulty. The tide 
had been falling during our walk, and the canoe could 
not approach the beach within several yards. The gentle- 
men plunged in, and walked out over knees in water ; 
while the boatmen made a chair of their arms and carried 
me through the surf. 

March 5th. — Our excursion in the harbor closed with 
a visit to the small island of Tatuatuba, distant about 
six miles from Para. In order to examine the shores, we 
made the circuit of the island on foot. Here again the 
same geological structure presented itself; and there was 
one spot in particular where the sharp, vertical cut of the 
bank facing the beach presented an admirable section of the 
formations so characteristic of the Amazonian Valley ; 
the red, sandy clay of the upper deposit filling in all the 
undulations and inequalities of the sandstone below, the 
surface of which was remarkably irregular. The sea is 
making great encroachments on the shore of this island. 
Senhor Figueiredo, who lives here with his family and by 
whom we were received with much hospitality, told us that 



390 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



during the last eighteen or twenty years, the beach had re- 
ceded considerably in some places ; the high-water line being 
many yards beyond its former limit. The result of this ex- 
cursion has shown that, with the exception of some low mud- 
islands nearly level with the water, all the harbor islands 
lying in the mouth of the Amazons are, geologically 
speaking, parts of the Amazonian Valley, having the same 
structure. They were, no doubt, formerly continuous 
with the shore, but are separated now, partly by the fresh 
waters cutting their way through the land to the ocean, 
partly by the progress of the sea itself. 

March 24th. — Our quiet life at Nazareth, though full of 
enjoyment for tired travellers, affords little material for a 
journal. A second excursion along the coast has furnished 
Mr. Agassiz with new evidence of the rapid changes in the 
outline of the shore, produced by the encroachment of the 
sea. So fast is this going on that some of the public works 
near the coast are already endangered by the advance of 
the ocean upon the land. During the past week he has 
been especially occupied in directing the work of a photo- 
graphist employed by Senhor Pimenta Bueno, who, with his 
usual liberality towards the scientific objects of the expedi- 
tion, is collecting in this way the portraits of some remark- 
able palms and other trees about his house and grounds. 
One of the most striking is a huge Sumaumera, with but- 
tressed trunk. These buttresses start at a distance of about 
eight or ten feet from the ground, spreading gradually to- 
ward the base ; they are from ten to twelve feet in depth. 
The lower part of the trunk is thus divided into open com- 
partments, sometimes so large that two or three persons can 
stand within them. This disposition to throw out flanks or 
wings is not confined to one kind of tree, but occurs in 



EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 



391 



many families ; it seems, indeed, a characteristic feature of 
forest vegetation here. Occasionally the buttresses partially 
separate from the main trunk, remaining attached to it only 
at the point from which they start, so that they look like 




Buttressed Tree (Eriodendrum Sumauma). 



distinct supports propping the tree. I copy here an ex- 
tract from Mr. Agassiz's notes upon the vegetation of the 
Amazons, in which allusion is made to the Sumaume*ra. 

" Any one coming from the North to the Tropics, if he 
has been in the habit of observing the vegetation about 



392 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



him, even without having made botany a special study, 
is, in a measure, prepared to appreciate the resemblances 
and the differences between plants of the tropical and 
those of the temperate regions. An acquaintance with 
the Robinia (Locust-trees), for instance, or with the large 
shrub-like Lotus, and other woody Leguminosse, will en- 
able him to recognize the numerous representatives of 
that family, forming so large a part of the equatorial 
vegetation ; and, even should he never have seen speci- 
mens of the Mimosa in gardens or hot-houses, their deli- 
cate, susceptible foliage will make them known to him ; 
he cannot fail to be struck with the inexhaustible com 
binations and forms of their pinnate leaves, as well as with 
the variety in their tints of green, the diversity in their 
clusters of leaves and in their pods and seeds. But there 
are families with which he fancies himself equally familiar, 
the tropical representatives of which will never seem to him 
like old acquaintances. Thus the tree which furnishes the 
Indian rubber belongs to the Milk-weed family. Every 
one knows the Milk-weeds of the North, to be seen, as 
humble herbs, all along the roadsides, on the edges of 
our woods and in the sands of our beaches. Yet on the 
Amazons, the Euphorbiaceas, so small and unobtrusive with 
us, assume the form of colossal trees, constituting a con- 
siderable part of its strange and luxuriant forest-growth. 
The giant of the Amazonian woods, whose majestic flat 
crown towers over all other trees, while its white trunk 
stands out in striking relief from the surrounding mass 
of green (the Sumaumera), is allied to our mallows. 
Some of the most characteristic trees of the river-shore 
belong to these two families. Our paleontologists who 
attempt to restore the forests of older geological times 



EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 



393 



.should keep in mind this fact of the striking contrasts 
presented under different latitudes by the same families. 
Of course the equatorial regions teem with plants and 
trees belonging to families either entirely unknown or 
but poorly represented in more temperate latitudes ; and 
these distinct groups naturally arrest the attention of the 
botanist, and perhaps awaken his interest more than those 
with which he is already familiar under other forms. 
But, while these different families are recognized as dis- 
tinct, and no doubt deserve to be considered by them- 
selves as natural groups, I believe that much might be 
learned of the deeper relations of plants by studying, 
not only the representatives of the same families in dif- 
ferent latitudes, such as the Mimosas and the Milk-weeds, 
but also what I may call botanical equivalents, — groups 
which balance each other in the different climatic zones. 
This idea is suggested to me by my zoological studies in 
the Amazons, which have led me to perceive new relations 
between the animals of the temperate and the tropical zone : 
it seems probable that corresponding relations should ex- 
ist in the vegetable world also. Struck, for instance, by 
the total absence of sturgeons, perches, pickerels, trouts, 
carps and other white fishes, cusks, sculpins, &c, I have 
asked myself, while studying the fishes of the Amazons, 
what analogy could exist between those of our Western 
rivers and those of the tropics, as well as between the 
latter and those of the intermediate latitudes. Looking 
at them with this view, I have been surprised to find 
how closely related the Goniodonts are to the Sturgeons ; 
so much so, that the Loricarise may be considered as gen- 
uine Sturgeons, with more extensive shields upon the body. 
I am satisfied also that the Cychla is a perch to all intents 



394 



A JOUKNEY IN BRAZIL. 



and purposes, that the Acaras are Sunfishes, the Xipho- 
rhamphus (Pira pucu) Pickerels, and the Curimatas genuine 
Carps. Now, may not a similar relation exist between 
the families of plants belonging to the North and those 
forming the most prominent vegetation of the South ? 
What are the tropical trees which take the place of our 
elms, maples, lindens ? By what families are our oaks, 
chestnuts, willows, poplars, represented under the burning- 
sun of the equinoctial regions ? The Rosacea in the tem- 
perate and the Myrtaceae in the tropical regions seem to 
me such botanical equivalents. The family of Rosaceae 
gives to the North its pears, its apples, its peaches, its 
cherries, its plums, its almonds ; in short, all the most 
delicious fruits of the Old World, as well as its most beauti- 
ful flowers. The trees of this family, by their foliage, play 
a distinguished part in the vegetation of the temperate zone, 
and impart to it a character of their own. The Myrtaceae 
give to the South its guavas, its pitangas, its aracas, the 
juicy plum-like fruit of the swamp-myrtles, many of its 
nuts, and other excellent fruits. This family, including 
the Melastomaceae, abounds in flowering shrubs, like the 
purple Queresma and many others not less beautiful ; 
and some of its representatives, such as the Sapucaia and 
the Brazilian nut-tree, rise to the height of towering trees. 
Both of these families sink to insignificance in the one 
zone, while they assume a dignified port and perform an 
important part in the other. If this investigation be ex- 
tended to the shrubs and humbler plants, I believe the 
botanist who undertakes it will reap a rich harvest." 

The day after to-morrow we leave Pard in the Santa Cruz 
for Ceara. It will be like leaving a sort of home to say good 
by to our kind friends in the Rua de Nazareth. We have 



EXCURSIONS ON THE COAST. 



395 



become attached to this neighborhood also from its beauty. 
The wide street, bordered for two or three miles with 
mangueiras, leads into the wooded country, where many a 
narrow green path in the forest tempts one to long rambles. 
One of these paths has been a favorite walk of mine on ac- 
count of the beauty and luxuriance of the vegetation, mak- 
ing some parts of it shady even at noonday. I have often 
followed it for two or three miles in the early morning, be- 
tween six and eight o'clock, when the verdant walls on 
either side are still fresh and dewy. Beautiful as it is, it 
leads to one of the saddest of all abodes. For a long time I 
could not understand why this lane was always in such 
good condition, the heavy rains making unfrequented forest- 
paths almost impassable in the wet season. I found on in- 
quiry that it led to a hospital for lepers, and was kept in 
good repair because the various stores and supplies for the 
hospital were constantly carried over it. The prevalence of 
leprosy has made it necessary to provide separate establish- 
ments for its victims ; and both at Pard and Santarem, where 
it is still more common, there are hospitals devoted exclu- 
sively to this purpose. This terrible disease is not confined 
wholly to the lower classes, and where it occurs in families 
whose circumstances are good the invalid is often kept at 
home under the care of his own friends. Bates states that 
leprosy is supposed to be incurable, and also adds that, dur- 
ing his eleven years' residence on the Amazons, he has never 
known a foreigner to be attacked by it. We have, however, 
been told by a very intelligent German physician in Eio de 
Janeiro, that he has known several cases of it among his 
, own countrymen there, and has been so fortunate as to 
effect permanent cures in some instances. He says it is a 
mistake to suppose that it does not yield to treatment when 



396 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



taken in time, and the statistics of the disease show that, 
where there are good physicians, it is found to be gradually 
disappearing. 

We must not leave Para without alluding to our evening 
concerts from the adjoining woods and swamps. When I first 
heard this strange confusion of sounds, I thought it came 
from a crowd of men shouting loudly, though at a little dis- 
tance. To my surprise, I found that the rioters were the 
frogs and toads in the neighborhood. I hardly know how to 
describe this Babel of woodland noises ; and if I could do it 
justice, I am afraid my account would hardly be believed. 
At moments it seems like the barking of dogs, then like the 
calling of many voices on different keys, but all loud, rapid, 
excited, full of emphasis and variety. I think these frogs, 
like ours, must be silent at certain seasons of the year ; for, 
on our first visit to Para, we were not struck by this singu- 
lar music, with which the woods now resound at nightfall. 



Note. — Before leaving the Amazons, I wish to acknowledge attentions 
received from several friends, whose names do not appear in the narrative. 

To Senhor Danin, Chef de Police at Para, I was indebted for valuable In- 
dian curiosities, and for specimens of other kinds ; to Doctor Malcher for a 
collection of birds ; to Senhor Penna for important additions to my collection 
of fishes ; to Senhor Laitao da Cunha for aid in collecting, and for many intro- 
ductions to persons of influence along our route ; and to Mr. Kaulfnss, a Ger- 
man resident at Para, for fossils from the Andes. 

I have to thank Mr. James Bond, United States Consul at Para, for unwea- 
ried efforts in my behalf during the whole time of my stay in the Amazons. He 
supplied me with alcohol ; received the collections on their arrival at Para ; ex- 
amined the cases and barrels, causing those which were defective to be repaired, 
that they might reach their destination in safety, and finally despatched them to 
the United States, free of charge, on board sailing-vessels in which he had an 
interest. We owe it in great degree to him that our immense Amazonian col- 
lections arrived in Cambridge in good condition, suffering little loss or injury 
in the process of transportation. — L. A. 



PHYSICAL HIST OK Y OF THE AMAZONS. 



397 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 

Drift about Rio de Janeiro. — Decomposition of underlying Rock. — 
Different Aspect of Glacial Phenomena in different Continents. — 
Fertility of the Drift. — Geological Observations of Messrs. Hartt 
and St. John. — Correspondence of Deposits along the Coast with 
those of Rio and those of the Valley of the Amazons. — Primitive 
Formation of the Valley. — First known Chapter of its History. — 
Cretaceous Fossil Fishes. — Former Extent of the South- American 
Coast. — Cretaceous Fossils from the Rio Purus. — Comparison be- 
tween North and South America. — Geological Formations along 
the Banks of the Amazons. — Fossil Leaves. — Clays and Sand- 
stones. — Hills of Almeyrim. — Monte Alegre. — Situation and Scen- 
ery. — Serra Erere. — Comparison with Swiss Scenery. — Boulders of 
Erere. — Ancient Thickness of Amazonian Deposits. — Difference 
between Drift of the Amazons and that of Rio. — Inferences drawn 
from the present Condition of the Deposits. — Immense Extent of 
Sandstone Formation. — Nature and Origin of these Deposits. — Re- 
ferred to the Ice-Period. — Absence of Glacial Marks. — Glacial 
Evidence of another Kind. — Changes in the Outline of the South- 
American Coast. — Soure. — Igarape Grande. — Vigia. — Bay of Bra- 
ganza. — Anticipation. 

A few days before we left Para, Senhor Pimenta Bueno 
invited his friends and acquaintances, who had expressed 
a wish to hear Mr. Agassiz's views on the geological char- 
acter of the Amazonian Valley, to meet at his house in 
the evening for that purpose. The guests were some two 
hundred in number, and the whole affair was very uncere- 
monious, assuming rather the character of a meeting for 
conversation or discussion than that of an audience col- 
lected to hear a studied address. The substance of this 
talk or lecture, as subsequently written out by Mr. Agassiz, 
afterward appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, and is in- 
serted here, with some few alterations under the head 



398 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



of a separate chapter. The reader will find occasional 
repetitions of facts already stated in the earlier part of 
the narrative ; but they are retained for the sake of giv- 
ing a complete and consistent review of the subject at 
this point of our journey, where it became possible to 
compare the geological structure of the Amazonian Val- 
ley with that of the southern provinces of Brazil and of 
those bordering on the Atlantic coast. 



The existence of a glacial period, however much derided 
when first announced, is now a recognized fact. The 
divergence of opinion respecting it is limited to a ques- 
tion of extent ; and after my recent journey in the Ama- i 
zons, I am led to add a new chapter to the strange history 
of glacial phenomena, taken from the southern hemisphere, 
and even from the tropics themselves. 

I am prepared to find that the statement of this new 
phase of the glacial period will awaken among my scien- 
tific colleagues an opposition even more violent than 
that by which the first announcement of my views on 
this subject was met. I am, however, willing to bide my 
time ; feeling sure that, as the theory of the ancient ex- 
tension of glaciers in Europe has gradually come to be 
accepted by geologists, so will the existence of like phe- 
nomena, both in North and South America, during the 
same epoch, be recognized sooner or later as part of a 
great series of physical events extending over the whole 
globe. Indeed, when the ice-period is fully understood, 
it will be seen that the absurdity lies in supposing that 
climatic conditions so different could be limited to a small 
portion of the world's surface. If the geological winter 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 399 



existed at all, it must have been cosmic ; and it is quite 
as rational to look for its traces in the Western as in the 
Eastern hemisphere, to the south of the equator as to the 
north of it. Impressed by this wider view of the subject, 
confirmed by a number of unpublished investigations 
which I have made during the last three or four years 
in the United States, I came to South America, expect- 
ing to find in the tropical regions new evidences of a 
bygone glacial period, though, of course, under different 
aspects. Such a result seemed to me the logical se- 
quence of what I had already observed in Europe and in 
North America. 

On my arrival in Rio de Janeiro, — the port at which 
I first landed in Brazil, — my attention was immediately 
attracted by a very peculiar formation consisting of an 
ochraceous, highly ferruginous, sandy clay. During a stay of 
three months in Rio, whence I made many excursions into 
the neighboring country, I had opportunities of studying 
this deposit, both in the province of Rio de Janeiro and in 
the adjoining province of Minas Geraes. I found that it 
rested everywhere upon the undulating surfaces of the 
solid rocks in place, was almost entirely destitute of strat- 
ification, and contained a variety of pebbles and boul- 
ders. The pebbles were chiefly quartz, sometimes scat- 
tered indiscriminately throughout the deposit, sometimes 
lying in a seam between it and the rock below ; while 
the boulders were either sunk in its mass, or resting loose- 
ly on the surface. At Tijuca, a few miles out of the city 
of Rio, among the picturesque hills lying to the south- 
west of it, these phenomena may be seen in great per- 
fection. Near Bennett's Hotel there are a great num- 
ber of erratic boulders, having no connection whatever 



400 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



with the rock in place ; and also a bluff of this super- 
ficial deposit studded with boulders, resting above the 
partially stratified metamorphic rock.* Other excellent 
opportunities for observing this formation, also within 
easy reach from the city, are afforded along the whole 
line of the Dom Pedro Segundo Railroad, where the 
cuts expose admirable sections, showing the red, unstrat- 
ified, homogeneous mass of sandy clay resting above the 
solid rock, and often divided from it by a thin bed of 
pebbles. There can be no doubt, in the mind of any 
one familiar with similar facts observed in other parts of 
the world, that this is one of the many forms of drift 
connected with glacial action. I was, however, far from 
anticipating, when I first met it in the neighborhood 
of Rio, that I should afterwards find it spreading over 
the surface of the country from north to south and from 
east to west, with a continuity which gives legible 
connection to the whole geological history of the con- 
tinent. 

It is true that the extensive decomposition of the un- 
derlying rock, penetrating sometimes to a considerable 
depth, makes it often difficult to distinguish between it 
and the drift; and the problem is made still more puz- 
zling by the fact that the surface of the drift, when 
baked by exposure to the hot sun, often assumes the 
appearance of decomposed rock, so that great care is 
required for a correct interpretation of the facts. A 
little practice, however, trains the eye to read these ap- 
pearances aright ; and I may say that I have learned to 
recognize everywhere the limit between the two forma- 
tions. There is indeed one safe guide, namely, the un- 

* See Chapter III. p. 86. 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



401 



dulating line, reminding one of roches moutonnees* and 
marking the irregular surface of the rock on which the 
drift was accumulated ; whatever modifications the one 
or the other may have undergone, this line seems never 
to disappear. Another deceptive feature, arising from the 
frequent disintegration of the rocks and from the brittle 
character of some of them, is the presence of loose frag- 
ments, which simulate erratic boulders, but are in fact only 
detached masses of the rock in place. A careful examina- 
tion of their structure, however, will at once show the geolo- 
gist whether they belong where they are found, or have been 
brought from a distance to their present resting-place. 

But, while the features to which I have alluded are 
unquestionably drift phenomena, they present in their 
wider extension, and especially in the northern part of 
Brazil, some phases of glacial action hitherto unobserved. 
Just as the investigation of the ice-period in the United 
States has shown us that ice-fields may move over open 
level plains, as well as along the slopes of mountain val- 
leys, so does a study of the same class of facts in South 
America reveal new and unlooked-for features in the his- 
tory of the ice-period. Some will say that the fact of 
the advance of ice-fields over an open country is by no 
means established, inasmuch as many geologists believe 
all the so-called glacial traces — viz. striae, furrows, polish, 
etc., found in the United States — to have been made by 
floating icebergs at a time when the continent was sub- 

* The name consecrated by De Saussure to designate certain rocks in Swit- 
zerland which have had their surfaces rounded under the action of the glaciers. 
Their gently swelling outlines are thought to resemble sheep resting on the 
ground, and for this reason the people in the Alps call them roches mou- 
tonnies. 

z 



402 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



merged. To this I can only answer that, in the State 
of Maine, I have followed, compass in hand, the same 
set of furrows, running from north to south in one un- 
varying line, over a surface of one hundred and thirty 
miles, from the Katahdin Iron Range to the sea-shore.* 
These furrows follow all the inequalities of the country, 
ascending ranges of hills varying from twelve to fifteen 
hundred feet in height, and descending into the inter- 
vening valleys only two or three hundred feet above the 
sea, or sometimes even on a level with it. I take it to 
be impossible that a floating mass of ice should travel 
onward in one rectilinear direction, turning neither to 
the right nor to the left, for such a distance. Equally 
impossible would it be for a detached mass of ice, swim- 
ming on the surface of the water, or even with its base 
sunk considerably below it, to furrow in a straight line the 
summits and sides of the hills, and the bottoms of the inter- 
vening valleys. It would be carried over the inequalities of 
the country without touching the lowest depressions. In- 
stead of ascending the mountains, it would remain stranded 
against any elevation which rose greatly above its own base, 
and, if caught between two parallel ridges, would float up 
and down between them. Moreover, the action of solid, un- 
broken ice, moving over the ground in immediate contact 
with it, is so different from that of floating ice-rafts or ice- 
bergs that, though the latter have unquestionably dropped 
erratic boulders, and made furrows and strias on the surface 
where they happened to be grounded, these phenomena will 
easily be distinguished from the more connected tracks of 
glaciers, or extensive sheets of ice, resting directly upon the 
face of the country and advancing over it. 

* See " Glacial Phenomena in Maine/' Atlantic Monthly, 1866. 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



403 



There seems thus far to be an inextricable confusion in 
the ideas of many geologists as to the respective action of 
currents, icebergs, and glaciers. It is time that they should 
learn to distinguish between classes of facts so different 
from each other, and so easily recognized after the discrim- 
ination has once been made. As to the southward move- 
ment of an immense field of ice, extending over the whole 
North, it seems inevitable, the moment we admit that snow 
may accumulate around the pole in such quantities as to 
initiate a pressure radiating in every direction. Snow, 
alternately thawing and freezing, must, like water, find its 
level at last. A sheet of snow ten or fifteen thousand feet 
in thickness, extending all over the northern and southern 
portions of the globe, must necessarily lead, in the end, to 
the formation of a northern and southern cap of ice, moving 
toward the equator. 

I have spoken of Tijuca and the Dom Pedro Railroad as 
favorable localities for studying the peculiar southern drift ; 
but one meets it in every direction. A sheet of drift, con- 
sisting of the same homogeneous, unstratified paste, and 
containing loose materials of all sorts and sizes, covers the 
country. It is of very uneven thickness, — sometimes 
thrown into relief, as it were, by the surrounding denuda- 
tions, and rising into hills ; sometimes reduced to a thin 
layer ; sometimes, as, for instance, on steep slopes, washed 
entirely away, leaving the bare face of the rock exposed. 
It has, however, remained comparatively undisturbed on 
some very abrupt ascents ; as may be seen on the Corcovado, 
along the path leading up the mountain, where there are 
some very fine banks of drift, the more striking from the 
contrast of their deep-red color with the surrounding vege- 
tation. I have myself followed this sheet of drift from Rio 



404 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



de Janeiro to the top of the Serra do Mar, where, just out- 
side the pretty town of Petropolis, the river Piabanha may- 
be seen flowing between banks of drift, in which it has ex- 
cavated its bed ; thence I have traced it along the beautiful 
macadamized road leading to Juiz de Fora in the province 
of Minas Geraes, and beyond this to the farther side of the 
Serra da Babylonia. Throughout this whole tract of country 
the drift may be seen along the roadside, in immediate 
contact with the native crystalline rock. The fertility of 
the land, also, is a guide to the presence of drift. Wherever 
it lies thickest over the surface, there are the most flourish- 
ing coffee-plantations ; and I believe that a more systematic 
regard to this fact would have a most beneficial influence 
upon the agricultural interests of the country. No doubt 
the fertility arises from the great variety of chemical ele- 
ments contained in the drift, and the kneading process it 
has undergone beneath the gigantic ice-plough, — a process 
which makes glacial drift everywhere the most fertile soil. 
Since my return from the Amazons, my impression as to 
the general distribution of these phenomena has been con- 
firmed by the reports of some of my assistants, who have 
been travelling in other parts of the country. Mr. Fred- 
erick C. Hartt, accompanied by Mr. Copeland, one of the 
volunteer aids of the expedition, has been making collections 
and geological observations in the province of Spiritu Santo, 
in the valley of the Rio Doce, and afterwards in the valley 
of the Mucury. He informs me that he has found every- 
where the same sheet of red, unstratified clay, with pebbles 
and occasional boulders overlying the rock in place. Mr. 
Orestes St. John, who, taking the road through the in- 
terior, has visited, with the same objects in view, the 
valleys of the Rio San Francisco and the Rio das Velhas, 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 405 



and also the valley of Piauhy, gives the same account, with 
the exception that he found no erratic boulders in these 
more northern regions. The rarity of erratic boulders, not 
only in the deposits of the Amazons proper, but in those of 
the whole region which may be considered as the Ama- 
zonian basin, is accounted for, as we shall see hereafter, by 
the mode of their formation. The observations of Mr. 
Hartt and Mr. St. John are the more valuable, because I 
had employed them both, on our first arrival in Rio, in 
making geological surveys of different sections on the Dom 
Pedro Railroad, so that they had a great familiarity with 
those formations before starting on their separate journeys. 
Recently, Mr. St. John and myself met in Pard on our re- 
turn from our respective explorations, and I have had an 
opportunity of comparing on the spot his geological sections 
from the valley of the Piauhy with the Amazonian deposits. 
There can be no doubt of the absolute identity of the for- 
mations in these valleys. 

Having arranged the work of my assistants, and sent 
several of them to collect and make geological examinations 
in other directions, I myself, with the rest of my compan- 
ions, proceeded up the coast to Para. I was surprised to 
find at every step of my progress the same geological phe- 
nomena which had met me at Rio. It was my friend, 
Major Coutinho, already an experienced Amazonian 
traveller, who first told me that this formation continued 
through the whole valley of the Amazons, and was also to 
be found on all of its affluents which he had visited, 
although he had never thought of referring it to so re- 
cent a period. And here let me say that the facts I now 
state are by no means exclusively the result of my own 
investigations. They are in great part due to Major 



406 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Coutinho, a member of the Brazilian government corps 
of engineers, who, by the kindness of the Emperor, was 
associated with me in my 1 Amazonian expedition. I can 
truly say that he has been my good genius throughout the 
whole journey, saving me, by his previous knowledge of the 
ground, from the futile and misdirected expenditure of 
means and time often inevitable in a new country, where 
one is imperfectly acquainted both with the people and 
their language. We have worked together in this investi- 
gation ; my only advantage over him being my greater 
familiarity with like phenomena in Europe and North 
America, and consequent readiness in the practical hand- 
ling of the facts and in perceiving their connection. 
Major Coutinho's assertion, that on the banks of the Ama- 
zons I should find the same red, unstratified clay as in Rio 
and along the southern coast, seemed to me at first almost 
incredible, impressed as I was with the generally received 
notions as to the ancient character of the Amazonian de- 
posits, referred by Humboldt to the Devonian, and by 
Martius to the Triassic period, and considered by all 
travellers to be at least as old as the Tertiaries. The 
result, however, confirmed his report, at least so far as the 
component materials of the formation are concerned ; but, 
as will be seen hereafter, the mode of their deposition, and 
the time at which it took place, have not been the same at 
the north and south ; and this difference of circumstances 
has modified the aspect of a formation essentially the same 
throughout. At first sight, it would indeed appear that 
this formation, as it exists in the valley of the Amazons, is 
identical with that of Rio ; but it differs from it in the 
rarity of its boulders, and in showing occasional signs of 
stratification. It is also everywhere underlaid by coarse, 



PHYSICAL HISTOKY OF THE AMAZONS. 407 



well-stratified deposits, resembling somewhat the Recife of 
Bahia and Pernambuco ; whereas the unstratified drift of 
the south rests immediately upon the undulating surface 
of whatever rock happens to make the foundation of the 
country, whether stratified or crystalline. The peculiar 
sandstone on which the Amazonian clay rests exists no- 
where else. Before proceeding, however, to describe the 
Amazonian deposits in detail, I ought to say something 
of the nature and origin of the valley itself. 

The valley of the Amazons was first sketched out by 
the elevation of two tracts of land ; namely, the plateau 
of Guiana on the north, and the central plateau of Brazil 
on the south. It is probable that, at the time these 
two table-lands were lifted above the sea-level, the An- 
des did not exist, and the ocean flowed between them 
through an open strait. It would seem (and this is a 
curious result of modern geological investigations) that 
the portions of the earth's surface earliest raised above 
the ocean have trended from east to west. The first 
tract of land lifted above the waters in North America 
was also a long continental island, running from New- 
foundland almost to the present base of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. This tendency may be attributed to various causes, 
— to the rotation of the earth, the consequent depres- 
sion of its poles, and the breaking of its crust along the 
lines of greatest tension thus produced. At a later 
period, the upheaval of the Andes took place, closing 
the western side of this strait, and thus transforming it 
into a gulf, open only toward the east. Little or nothing 
is known of the earlier stratified deposits resting against 
the crystalline masses first uplifted along the borders of the 
Amazonian Valley. There is here no sequence, as in North 



t 

408 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 

America, of Azoic, Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous 
formations, shored up against each other by the gradual 
upheaval of the continent ; although, unquestionably, older 
palaeozoic and secondary beds underlie, here and there, 
the later formations. Indeed, Major Coutinho has found 
palaeozoic deposits, with characteristic Brachiopods, in the 
valley of the Bio Tapajos, at the first cascade, and car- 
boniferous deposits have been noticed along the Rio 
Guapore and the Rio Mamore. But the first chapter 
in the valley's geological history about which we have 
connected and trustworthy data is that of the cretaceous 
period. It seems certain, that, at the close of the secondary 
age, the whole Amazonian basin became lined with a cre- 
taceous deposit, the margins of which crop out at various 
localities on its borders. They have been observed along 
its southern limits, on its western outskirts along the 
Andes, in Venezuela along the shore-line of mountains, 
and also in certain localities near its eastern edge. I well 
remember that one of the first things which awakened 
my interest in the geology of the Amazonian Yalley was 
the sight of some cretaceous fossil fishes from the province 
of Ceara. These fossil fishes were collected by Mr. George 
Gardner, to whom science is indebted for the most ex- 
tensive information yet obtained respecting the geology 
of that part of Brazil. In this connection, let me say 
that I shall speak of the provinces of Ceara, Piauhy, and 
Maranham as belonging geologically to the valley of the 
Amazons, though their shore is bathed by the ocean and 
their rivers empty directly into the Atlantic. But I 
entertain no doubt that, at an earlier period, the north- 
eastern coast of Brazil stretched much farther seaward 
than in our day ; so far, indeed, that in those times the 



4 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 409 

rivers of all these provinces must have been tributaries 
of the Amazons in its eastward course. The evidence for 
this conclusion is substantially derived from the identity 
of the deposits in the valleys belonging to these provinces 
with those of the valleys through which the actual tribu- 
taries of the Amazons flow ; as, for instance, the Tocantins, 
the Xingu, the Tapajos, the Madeira, etc. Besides the 
fossils above alluded to from the eastern borders of this 
ancient basin, I have had recently another evidence of its 
cretaceous character from its southern region. Mr. Wil- 
liam Chandless, on his return from a late journey on the 
Rio Purus, presented me with a series of fossil remains 
of the highest interest, and undoubtedly belonging to the 
cretaceous period. They were collected by himself on the 
Rio Aquiry, an affluent of the Rio Purus. Most of them 
were found in place between the tenth and eleventh de- 
grees of south latitude, and the sixty-seventh and sixty- 
ninth degrees of west longitude from Greenwich, in local- 
ities varying from four hundred and thirty to six hundred 
and fifty feet above the sea-level. There are among them 
remains of Mosasaurus, and of fishes closely allied to those 
already represented by Faujas in his description of Maes- 
tricht, and characteristic, as is well known to geological 
students, of the most recent cretaceous period. 

Thus in its main- features the valley of the Amazons, 
like that of the Mississippi, is a cretaceous basin. This 
resemblance suggests a further comparison between the 
twin continents of North and South America. Not only 
is their general form the same, but their framework, as 
we may call it, — that is, the lay of their great mountain- 
chains and of their table-lands, with the extensive inter- 
vening depressions, — presents a striking similarity. Indeed, 

18 



410 



A JOURNEY IN BEAZIL. 



a zoologist, accustoraed to trace a like structure under 
variously modified animal forms, cannot but have his 
homological studies recalled to his mind by the coinci- 
dence between certain physical features in the northern 
and southern parts of the Western hemisphere. And yet 
here, as throughout all nature, these correspondences are 
combined with a distinctness of individualization which 
leaves its respective character, not only to each continent 
as a whole, but also to the different regions circumscribed 
within its borders. In both, however, the highest mountain- 
chains, the Rocky Mountains and the Western Coast Range, 
with their wide intervening table-land in North America, and 
the chain of the Andes, with its lesser plateaux in South 
America, run along the western coast ; both have a great 
eastern promontory, Newfoundland in the Northern conti- 
nent, and Cape St. Roque in the Southern : and though 
the resemblance between the inland elevations is perhaps 
less striking, yet the Canadian range, the White Mountains, 
and the Alleghanies may very fairly be compared to the 
table-lands of Guiana and Brazil, and the Serra do Mar. 
Similar correspondences may be traced among the river- 
systems. The Amazons and the St. Lawrence, though so 
different in dimensions, remind us of each other by their 
trend and geographical position ; and while the one is 
fed by the largest river-system in the world, the other 
drains the most extensive lake surfaces known to exist 
in immediate contiguity. The Orinoco, with its bay, recalls 
Hudson's Bay and its many tributaries, and the Rio Mag- 
dalena may be said to be the South- American Mackenzie ; 
while the Rio de la Plata represents geographically our 
Mississippi, and the Paraguay recalls the Missouri. The 
Parana may be compared to the Ohio ; the Pilcomayo, 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 411 



Verinejo, and Salado rivers, to the river Platte, the Ar- 
kansas, and the Red River in the United States ; while 
the rivers farther south, emptying into the Gulf of 
Mexico, represent the rivers of Patagonia and the south- 
ern parts of the Argentine Republic. Not only is there 
this general correspondence between the mountain eleva- 
tions and the river-systems, but as the larger river-basins 
of North America — those of the St. Lawrence, the Mis- 
sissippi, and the Mackenzie — meet in the low tracts 
extending along the foot of the Rocky Mountains, so do 
the basins of the Amazons, the Rio de la Plata, and 
the Orinoco join each other along the eastern slope of 
the Andes. 

But while in geographical homology the Amazons com- 
pares with the St. Lawrence, and the Mississippi with the 
Rio de la Plata, the Mississippi and the Amazons, as has 
been said, resemble each other in their local geological 
character. They have both received a substratum of cre- 
taceous beds, above which are accumulated more recent 
deposits, so that, in their most prominent geological fea- 
tures, both may be considered as cretaceous basins, con- 
taining extensive deposits of a very recent age. Of the 
history of the Amazonian Valley during the periods im- 
mediately following the Cretaceous, we know little or 
nothing. Whether the Tertiary deposits are hidden under 
the more modern ones ; or whether they are wholly want- 
ing, the basin having, perhaps, been raised above the 
sea-level before that time ; or whether they have been 
swept away by the tremendous inundations in the valley, 
which have certainly destroyed a great part of the creta- 
ceous deposit, — they have never been observed in any part 
of the Amazonian basin. Whatever Tertiary deposits are 



412 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



represented in geological maps of this region are so marked 
in consequence of an incorrect identification of strata 
belonging, in fact, to a much more recent period. 

A minute and extensive survey of the valley of the Ama- 
zons is by no means an easy task, and its difficulty is greatly 
increased by the fact that the lower formations are only 
accessible on the river margins during the vasante, or dry 
season, when the waters shrink in their beds, leaving a great 
part of their banks exposed. It happened that the first three 
or four months of my journey (August, September, October, 
and November) were those when the waters are lowest, 
— reaching their minimum in September and October, and 
beginning to rise again in November, — so that I had an 
excellent opportunity, in ascending the river, of observing 
'its geological structure. Throughout its whole length, 
three distinct geological formations may be traced, the two 
lower of which have followed in immediate succession, and 
are conformable with one another, while the third rests un- 
conformably upon them, following all the inequalities of the 
greatly denudated surface presented by the second forma- 
tion. Notwithstanding this seeming interruption in the 
sequence of these deposits, the third, as we shall presently 
see, belongs to the same series, and was accumulated in the 
same basin. The lowest set of beds of the whole series is 
rarely visible ; but it seems everywhere to consist of sand- 
stone, or even of loose sands well stratified, the coarser 
materials lying invariably below, and the finer above. Upon 
this lower set of beds rests everywhere an extensive deposit 
of fine laminated clays, varying in thickness, but frequently 
dividing into layers as thin as a sheet of paper. In some 
localities they exhibit, in patches, an extraordinary variety 
of beautiful colors, — pink, orange, crimson, yellow, gray, 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



413 



blue, and also black and white. It is from these beds that 
the Indians prepare their paints. These clay deposits as- 
sume occasionally a peculiar appearance, and one which 
might mislead the observer as to their true nature. When 
their surface has been long exposed to the action of the 
atmosphere and to the heat of the burning sun, they look 
so much like clay-slates of the oldest geological epochs that, 
at first sight, I took them for primary slates, my attention 
being attracted to them by a regular cleavage as distinct as 
that of the most ancient clay-slates. And yet at Tonantins, 
on the banks of the Solimoens, in a locality where their 
exposed surfaces had this primordial appearance, I found in 
these very beds a considerable amount of well-preserved 
leaves, the character of which proves their recent origin. 
These leaves do not even indicate as ancient a period as the 
Tertiaries, but resemble so closely the vegetation of to-day 
that I have no doubt, when examined by competent author- 
ity, they will be identified with living plants. The pres- 
ence of such an extensive clay formation, stretching over a 
surface of more than three thousand miles in length and 
about seven hundred in breadth, is not easily explained 
under any ordinary circumstances. The fact that it is so 
thoroughly laminated shows that, in the basin in which it 
was formed, the waters must have been unusually quiet, 
containing identical materials throughout, and that these 
materials must have been deposited over the whole bottom 
in the same way. It is usually separated from the superin- 
cumbent beds by a glazed crust of hard, compact sandstone, 
almost resembling a ferruginous quartzite. 

Upon this follow beds of sand and sandstone, varying in 
the regularity of their strata, reddish in color, often highly 
ferruginous, and more or less nodulous or porous. They 



414 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



present frequent traces of cross-stratification, alternating 
with regularly stratified horizontal beds, with here and there 
an intervening layer of clay. It would seem as if the char- 
acter of the water-basin had now changed, and as if the 
waters under which this second formation was deposited 
had vibrated between storm and calm, had sometimes 
flowed more gently, and again had been tossed to and fro, 
giving to some of the beds the aspect of true torrential 
deposits. Indeed, these sandstone formations present a 
great variety of aspects. Sometimes they are very regu- 
larly laminated, or assume even the appearance of the hard- 
est quartzite. This is usually the case with the uppermost 
beds. In other localities, and more especially in the lower- 
most beds, the whole mass is honeycombed, as if drilled by 
worms or boring shells, the hard parts enclosing softer sands 
or clays. Occasionally the ferruginous materials prevail to 
such an extent that some of these beds might be mistaken 
for bog-ore, while others contain a large amount of clay, 
more regularly stratified, and alternating with strata of 
sandstone, thus recalling the most characteristic forms 
of the Old Red or Triassic formations. This resemblance 
has, no doubt, led to the identification of the Amazonian 
deposits with the more ancient formations of Europe. At 
Monte Alegre, of which I shall presently speak more in 
detail, such a clay bed divides the lower from the upper 
sandstone. The thickness of these sandstones is extremely 
variable. In the basin of the Amazons proper, they hardly 
rise anywhere above the level of high water during the rainy 
season ; while at low water, in the summer months, they may 
be observed everywhere along the river-banks. It will be 
seen, however, that the limit between high and low water 
gives no true measure of the original thickness of the whole 
series. 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



415 



In the neighborhood of Almeyrim, at a short distance 
from the northern bank of the river, and nearly parallel 
with its course, there rises a line of low hills, interrupted 
here and there, but extending in evident connection from 
Almeyrim through the region of Monte Alegre to the heights 
of Obydos. These hills have attracted the attention of 
travellers, not only from their height, which appears greater 
than it is, because they rise abruptly from an extensive plain, 
but also on account of their curious form ; many of them 
being perfectly level on top, like smooth tables, and very ab- 
ruptly divided from each other by low, intervening spaces.* 
Nothing has hitherto been known of the geological structure 
of these hills, but they have been usually represented as 
the southernmost spurs of the table-land of Guiana. On 
ascending the river, I felt the greatest curiosity to examine 
them ; but at the time I was deeply engrossed in studying 
the distribution of fishes in the Amazonian waters, and in 
making large ichthyological collections, for which it was 
very important not to miss the season of low water, when 
the fishes are most easily obtained. I was, therefore, obliged 
to leave this most interesting geological problem, and con- 
tent myself with examining the structure of the valley so 
far as it could be seen on the river-banks and in the neigh- 
borhood of my different collecting stations. On my return, 
however, when my collections were completed, I was free to 
pursue this investigation, in which Major Coutinho was as 
much interested as myself. We determined to select Monte 
Alegre as the centre of our exploration, the serra in that 
region being higher than elsewhere. As I was detained by 

* The atlas in Martius's "Journey to Brazil," or the sketch accompanying 
Bates's description of these hills in his "Naturalist on the Amazons,'' will 
give an idea of their aspect. 



416 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 

indisposition at Manaos for some days at the time we had 
appointed for the excursion, Major Coutinho preceded me, 
and had already made one trip to the serra, with some very 
interesting results, when I joined him, and we took a sec- 
ond journey together. Monte Alegre lies on a side arm of 
the Amazons, a little off from its main course. This side 
arm, called the Rio Gurupatuba, is simply a channel, run- 
ning parallel with the Amazons, and cutting through from 
a higher to a lower point. Its dimensions are, however, 
greatly exaggerated in all the maps thus far published, 
where it is usually made to appear as a considerable north- 
ern tributary of the Amazons. The town stands on an 
elevated terrace, separated from the main stream by the Rio 
Gurupatuba and by an extensive flat, consisting of numer- 
ous lakes divided from each other by low, alluvial land, and 
mostly connected by narrow channels. To the west of the 
town this terrace sinks abruptly to a wide sandy plain 
called the Campos, covered with a low forest-growth, and 
bordered on its farther limit by the picturesque serra of 
Erere\ The form of this mountain is so abrupt, its rise 
from the plains so bold and sudden, that it seems more 
than twice its real height. Judging by the eye and com- 
paring it with the mountains I had last seen, — the Corco- 
vado, the Gavia, and Tijuca range in the neighborhood of 
Rio, — I had supposed it to be three or four thousand feet 
high, and was greatly astonished when our barometric ob 
servations showed it to be somewhat less than nine hundred 
feet in its most elevated point. This, however, agrees with 
Martius's measurement of the Almeyrim hills, which he 
says are eight hundred feet in height. 

We passed three days in the investigation of the Serra 
of Erer6, and found it to consist wholly of the sandstone 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



417 



deposits already described, and to have exactly the same 
geological constitution. In short, the Serra of Monte 
Aldgre, and of course all those connected with it on the 
northern side of the river, lie in the prolongation of the 
lower beds forming the banks of the river, their greater 
height being due simply to the fact that they have not 
been worn to the same low level. The opposite range 
of Santarem, which has the same general outline and 
character, shares, no doubt, the same geological struc- 
ture. In one word, all these hills were formerly part of 
a continuous formation, and owe their present outline and 
their isolated position to a colossal denudation. The sur- 
face of the once unbroken strata, which in their original 
condition must have formed an immense plain covered 
by water, has been cut into ravines or carried away over 
large tracts, to a greater or less depth, leaving only such 
portions standing as, from their hardness, could resist the 
floods which swept over it. The longitudinal trend of 
these hills is to be ascribed to the direction of the cur- 
rent which caused the denudation, while their level sum- 
mits are due to the regularity of the stratification. They 
are not all table-topped, however ; among them are many 
of smaller size, in which the sides have been gradually 
worn down, producing a gently rounded surface. Of 
course, under the heavy tropical rains this denudation is 
still going on, though in a greatly modified form. 

I cannot speak of this Serra without alluding to the great 
beauty and extraordinary extent of the view to be obtained 
from it. Indeed, it was here that for the first time the 
geography of the country presented itself to my mind as 
a living reality in all its completeness. Insignificant as 
is its actual height, the Serra of Erere* commands a 

18* A A 



418 



A JOURNEY IN BEAZIL. 



wider prospect than is to be had from many a more im- 
posing mountain ; for the surrounding plain, covered with 
forests and ploughed by countless rivers, stretches away 
for hundreds of leagues in every direction, without any 
object to obstruct the view. Standing on the brow of the 
Serra, with the numerous lakes intersecting the lowlands 
at its base, you look across the valley of the Amazons, 
as far as the eye can reach, and through its centre you 
follow for miles on either side the broad flood of the great 
river, carrying its yellow waters to the sea. As I stood 
there, panoramas from the Swiss mountains came up to 
my memory, and I fancied myself on the Alps, looking 
across the plain of Switzerland instead of the bed of the 
Amazons ; the distant line of the Santarem hills on the 
southern bank of the river, and lower than the northern 
chain, representing the Jura range. As if to complete 
the comparison, Alpine lichens were growing among the 
cacti and palms, and a crust of Arctic cryptogamous 
growth covered rocks, between which sprang tropical flow- 
ers. On the northern flank of this Serra I found the 
only genuine erratic boulders I have seen in the whole 
length of the Amazonian Valley from Para to the frontier 
of Peru, though there are many detached masses of rock, 
as, for instance, at Pedreira, near the junction of the Rio 
Negro and Rio Branco, which might be mistaken for 
them, but are due to the decomposition of the rocks in 
place. The boulders of Erere are entirely distinct from the 
rock of the Serra, and consist of masses of compact horn- 
blende. 

It would seem that these two ranges skirting a part of 
the northern and southern banks of the Lower Amazons are 
not the only remnants of this arenaceous formation in its 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



419 



primitive altitude. On the banks of the Rio Japura, in the 
Serra of Cupati, Major Coutinho has found the same beds 
rising to the same height. It thus appears, by positive 
evidence, that over an extent of a thousand miles these 
deposits had a very considerable thickness, in the present 
direction of the valley. How far they extended in width 
has not been ascertained by direct observation ; for we 
have not seen how .they sink away to the northward, and 
towards the south the denudation has been so complete 
that, except in the very low range of hills in the neighbor- 
hood of Santarem, they do not rise above the plain. But 
the fact that this formation once had a thickness of more 
than eight hundred feet within the limits where we have 
had an opportunity of observing it, leaves no doubt that 
it must have extended to the edge of the basin, filling it 
to the same height throughout its whole extent. The 
thickness of the deposits gives a measure for the colossal 
scale of the denudations by which this immense accumu- 
lation was reduced to its present level. Here, then, is a 
system of high hills, having the prominence of mountains 
in the landscape, produced by causes to whose agency 
inequalities on the earth's surface of this magnitude have 
never yet been ascribed. We may fairly call them denuda- 
tion mountains. 

At this stage of the inquiry we have to account for two 
remarkable phenomena, — first, the filling of the Amazonian 
bottom with coarse arenaceous materials and finely lami- 
nated clays, immediately followed by sandstones rising to a 
height of more than eight hundred feet above the sea, 
the basin meanwhile having no rocky barrier towards the 
ocean on its eastern side ; secondly, the wearing away and 
reduction of these formations to their present level by a 



420 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



denudation more extensive than any thus far recorded 
in the annals of geology, which has given rise to all the 
most prominent hills and mountain-chains along the north- 
ern bank of the river. Before seeking an explanation of 
these facts, let us look at the third and uppermost deposit. 

This deposit is essentially the same as the Rio drift ; 
but in the north it presents itself under a somewhat dif- 
ferent aspect. As in Rio, it is a clayey deposit, containing 
more or less sand, and reddish in color, though varying 
from deep ochre to a brownish tint. It is not so abso- 
lutely destitute of stratification here as in its more south- 
ern range, though the traces of stratification are rare, 
and, when they do occur, are faint and indistinct. The 
materials are also more completely comminuted, and, as I 
said above, contain hardly any large masses, though quartz 
pebbles are sometimes scattered throughout the deposit, 
and occasionally a thin seam of pebbles, exactly as in the 
Rio drift, is seen resting between it and the underlying 
sandstone. In some places this bed of pebbles intersects 
even the mass of the clay, giving it, in such instances, 
an unquestionably stratified character. There can be no 
doubt that this more recent formation rests unconform- 
ably upon the sandstone beds beneath it ; for it fills all 
the inequalities of their denudated surfaces, whether they 
be more or less limited furrows, or wide, undulating de- 
pressions. It may be seen everywhere along the banks 
of the river, above the stratified sandstone, sometimes 
with the river-mud accumulated against it ; at the season 
of the enchente, or high water, it is the only formation left 
exposed above the water-level. Its thickness is not great ; 
it varies from twenty or thirty to fifty feet, and may occa- 
sionally rise nearly to a hundred feet in height, though this 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 421 



is rarely the case. It is evident that this formation also was 
once continuous, stretching over the whole basin at one 
level. Though it is now worn down in many places, and 
has wholly disappeared in others, its connection may be 
readily traced ; since it is everywhere visible, not only 
on opposite banks of the Amazons, but also on those 
of all its tributaries, as far as their shores have been ex- 
amined. I have said that it rests always above the sand- 
stone beds. This is true, with one exception. Wherever 
the sandstone deposits retain their original thickness, as 
in the hills of Monte Alegre and Almeyrim, the red clay 
is not found on their summits, but occurs only in their 
ravines and hollows, or resting against their sides. This 
shows that it is not only posterior to the sandstone, but 
was accumulated in a shallower basin, and consequently 
never reached so high a level. The boulders of Ererd 
do not rest on the stratified sandstone of the Serra, but 
are sunk in the unstratified mass of the clay. This 
should be remembered, as it will presently be seen that 
their position associates them with a later period than 
that of the mountain itself. The unconformability of 
the ochraceous clay and the underlying sandstones might 
lead to the idea that the two formations belong to distinct 
geological periods, and are not due to the same agency 
acting at successive times. One feature, however, shows 
their close connection. The ochraceous clay exhibits a 
remarkable identity of configuration with the underlying 
sandstones. An extensive survey of the two, in their 
mutual relations, shows clearly that they were both de- 
posited by the same water-system within the same basin, 
but at different levels. Here and there the clay forma- 
tion has so pale and grayish a tint that it may be con- 



422 



A JOUKNEY IN BRAZIL. 



founded with the mud deposits of the river. These latter, 
however, never rise so high as the ochraceous clay, but 
are everywhere confined within the limits of high and 
low water. The islands also, in the main course of the 
Amazons, consist invariably of river-mud; while those 
arising from the intersection and cutting off of portions 
of the land by diverging branches of the main stream 
always consist of the well-known sandstones, capped by 
the ochre-colored clay. 

It may truly be said that there does not exist on the 
surface of the earth a formation known to geologists re- 
sembling that of the Amazons. Its extent is stupendous ; 
it stretches from the Atlantic shore, through the whole 
width of Brazil, into Peru, to the very foot of the Andes. 
Humboldt speaks of it " in the vast plains of the Amazons, 
in the eastern boundary of Jaen de Bracamoros," and 
says, " This prodigious extension of red sandstone in the 
low grounds stretching along the east of the Andes is 
one of the most striking phenomena I observed during 
my examination of rocks in the equinoctial regions." * 
When the great natural philosopher wrote these lines, he 
had no idea how much these deposits extended beyond 
the field of his observations. Indeed, they are not limited 
to the main bed of the Amazons ; they have been fol- 

* Bohn's edition of Humboldt's Personal Narrative, Chap. II. p. 134. Hum- 
boldt alludes to these formations repeatedly : it is true that he refers them to 
the ancient conglomerates of the Devonian age, but his description agrees so 
perfectly with what I have observed along the banks of the Amazons and 
the Rio Negro that there can be no doubt he speaks of the same thing. He 
wrote at a time when many of the results of modern geology were un- 
known, and his explanation of the phenomena was then perfectly natural. 
The passage from which the few lines in the text are taken shows that these 
deposits extend even to the Llanos. 



PHYSICAL HIST OK Y OF THE AMAZONS. 



423 



lowed along the banks of its tributaries to the south and 
north as far as these have been ascended. They occur on 
• the margins of the Huallaga and the Ucayale, on those 
of the I^a, the Hyutahy, the Hyurua, the Hyapura, and 
the Purus. On the banks of the Hyapura, where Major 
Coutinho has traced them, they are found as far as the 
Cataract of Cupati. I have followed them along the Rio 
Negro to its junction with the Rio Branco ; and Hum- 
boldt not only describes them from a higher point on this 
same river, but also from the valley of the Orinoco. Finally, 
they may be tracked along the banks of the Madeira, the 
Tapajos, the Xingu, and the Tocantins, as well as on the 
shores of the Guatuma, the Trombetas, and other north- 
ern affluents of the Amazons. The observations of Mar- 
tius, those of Gardner, and the recent survey above alluded 
to, made by my assistant, Mr. St. John, of the valley of 
the Rio Guruguea and that of the Rio Paranahyba, show 
that the great basin of Piauhy is also identical in its 
geological structure with the lateral valleys of the Ama- 
zons. The same is true of the large island of Marajo, 
lying at the mouth of the Amazons. And yet I believe 
that even this does not cover the whole ground, and 
that some future writer may say of my estimate, as I 
have said of Humboldt's, that it falls short of the truth ; 
for, if my generalizations are correct, the same formation 
will be found extending over the whole basin of the Para- 
guay and the Rio de la Plata, and along their tributaries, 
to the very heart of the Andes. 

Such are the facts. The question now arises, How 
were these vast deposits formed ? The easiest answer, 
and the one which most readily suggests itself, is that of 
a submersion of the continent at successive periods, to 



424 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



allow the accumulation of these materials, and its sub- 
sequent elevation. I reject this explanation for the simple 
reason that the deposits show no sign whatever of a 
marine origin. No sea-shells, nor remains of any marine 
animal, have as yet been found throughout their whole 
extent, over a region several thousand miles in length 
and from five to seven hundred miles in width. It is 
contrary to all our knowledge of geological deposits to 
suppose that an ocean basin of this size, which must have 
been submerged during an immensely long period in order 
to accumulate formations of such a thickness, should not 
contain numerous remains of the animals formerly inhab- 
iting it.* The only fossil remains of any kind truly belong- 
ing to it, which I have found in the formation, are leaves 
taken from the lower clays on the banks of the Solimoens 
at Tonantins ; and these show a vegetation similar in 
general character to that which prevails there to-day. 
Evidently, then, this basin was a fresh-water basin ; these 
deposits are fresh-water deposits. But as the valley of 

* I am aware that Bates mentions haying heard that at Obydos cal- 
careous layers, thickly studded with marine shells, had been found inters trat- 
ified with the clay, but he did not himself examine the strata. The Obydos 
shells are not marine, but are fresh-water Unios, greatly resembling Aviculas, 
Solens, and Areas. Such would-be marine fossils have been brought to me 
from the shore opposite to Obydos, near Santarem, and I have readily rec- 
ognized them for what they truly are, — fresh-water shells of the family of 
Naiades. I have myself collected specimens of these shells in the clay-beds 
along the banks of the Solimoens, near Teffe, and might have mistaken 
them for fossils of that formation had I not known how Naiades burrow in 
the mud. Their resemblance to the marine genera mentioned above is very 
remarkable, and the mistake as to their true zoological character is as nat- 
ural as that by which earlier ichthyologists, and even travellers of very recent 
date, have confounded some fresh-water fishes from the Upper Amazons, of 
the genus Pterophyllum (Heckel), with the marine genus Platax. 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 425 

the Amazons exists to-day, it is widely open to the ocean 
on the east, with a gentle slope from the Andes to the 
Atlantic, determining a powerful seaward current. When 
these vast accumulations took place, the basin must have 
been closed ; otherwise the loose materials Would constantly 
have been carried down to the ocean. 

It is my belief that all these deposits belong to the ice- 
period in its earlier or later phases, and to this cosmic 
winter, which, judging from all the phenomena connected 
with it, may have lasted for thousands of centuries, we must 
look for the key to the geological history of the Amazonian 
Yalley. I am aware that this suggestion will appear extrav- 
agant. But is it, after all, so improbable that, when Central 
Europe was covered with ice thousands of feet thick ; when 
the glaciers of Great Britain ploughed into the sea, and 
when those of the Swiss mountains had ten times their 
present altitude ; when every lake in Northern Italy was 
filled with ice, and these frozen masses extended even into 
Northern Africa ; when a sheet of ice, reaching nearly 
to the summit of Mount Washington in the White Moun- 
tains (that is, having a thickness of nearly six thousand 
feet), moved over the continent of North America, — is 
it so improbable that, in this epoch of universal cold, 
the valley of the Amazons also had its glacier poured 
down into it from the accumulations of snow in the Cor- 
dilleras, and swollen laterally by the tributary glaciers 
descending from the table-lands of Guiana and Brazil ? 
The movement of this immense glacier must have been 
eastward, determined as well by the vast reservoirs of snow 
in the Andes as by the direction of the valley itself. It 
must have ploughed the valley-bottom over and over again, 
grinding all the materials beneath it into a fine powder 



426 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



or reducing them to small pebbles, and it must have 
accumulated at its lower end a moraine of proportions 
as gigantic as its own ; thus building a colossal sea-wall 
across the mouth of the valley. I shall be asked at once 
whether I have found here also the glacial inscriptions^ 
— the furrows, striae, and polished surfaces so character- 
istic of the ground over which glaciers have travelled. 
I answer, not a trace of them ; for the simple reason that 
there is not a natural rock-surface to be found through- 
out the whole Amazonian Valley. The rocks themselves 
are of so friable a nature, and the decomposition caused 
by the warm torrential rains and by exposure to the 
burning sun of the tropics so great and unceasing, that 
it is hopeless to look for marks which in colder climates 
and on harder substances are preserved through ages un- 
changed. With the exception of the rounded surfaces 
so well known in Switzerland as the roches moutonnees 
heretofore alluded to, which may be seen in many locali- 
ties, and the boulders of Erere, the direct traces of gla- 
ciers as seen in other countries are wanting in Brazil. 
I am, indeed, quite willing to admit that, from the nature 
of the circumstances, I have not here the positive evidence 
which has guided me in my previous glacial investigations. 
My conviction in this instance is founded, first, on the 
materials in the Amazonian Valley, which correspond 
exactly in their character to materials accumulated in 
glacier bottoms ; secondly," on the resemblance of the upper 
or third Amazonian formation to the Rio drift,* of the 

* As I have stated in the beginning, I am satisfied that the unstratified 
clay deposit of Rio and its vicinity is genuine glacial drift, resulting from the 
grinding of the loose materials interposed between the glacier and the solid 
rock in place, and retaining to this day the position in which it was left by the 
ice. Like all such accumulations, it is totally free from stratification. If this 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



427 



glacial origin of which there cannot, in my opinion, be any 
doubt ; thirdly, on the fact that this fresh-water basin must 
have been closed against the sea by some powerful barrier, 
the removal of which would naturally give an outlet to 
the waters, and cause the extraordinary denudations, the 
evidences of which meet us everywhere throughout the 
valley. 

On a smaller scale, phenomena of this kind have long 
been familiar to us. In the present lakes of Northern 
Italy, in those of Switzerland, Norway, and Sweden, as 
well as in those of New England, especially in the State of 
Maine, the waters are held back in their basins by moraines. 
In the ice-period these depressions were filled with glaciers, 
which, in the course of time, accumulated at their lower 
end a wall of loose materials. These walls still remain, 
and serve as dams to prevent the escape of the waters. 
But for their moraines, all these lakes would be open 
valleys. In the Roads of Glen Roy, in Scotland, we have 

be so, it is evident, on comparing the two formations, that the ochraceous 
sandy clay of the valley of the Amazons has been deposited under different 
circumstances ; that, while it owes its resemblance to the Rio drift to the fact 
that its materials were originally ground by glaciers in the upper part of the 
valley, these materials have subsequently been spread throughout the whole 
basin and actually deposited under the agency of water. A survey of the 
more southern provinces of Brazil, extending to the temperate zone, where the 
•combined effects of a tropical sun and of tropical rains must naturally be want- 
ing, will, I trust, remove all the difficulties still attending this explanation. 
The glacial phenomena, with all their characteristic features, are already known 
to cover the southernmost parts of South America. The intervening range, 
between 22° and 36° of south latitude, cannot fail to exhibit the transition 
from the drift of the cold and temperate zone to the formations of a kindred 
■character described above from the tropical zone. The knowledge of these de- 
posits will definitely settle the question ; and either prove the correctness of my 
generalizations or show their absurdity. I feel no anxiety as to the result. I 
only long for a speedy removal of all doubts. 



428 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



an instance of a fresh-water lake, which has now wholly- 
disappeared, formed in the same manner, and reduced suc- 
cessively to lower and lower levels by the breaking down or 
wearing away of the moraines which originally prevented 
its waters from flowing out. Assuming then that, under 
the low temperature of the ice-period, the climatic condi- 
tions necessary for the formation of land-ice existed in the 
valley of the Amazons, and that it was actually filled with 
an immense glacier, it follows that, when these fields of ice 
yielded to a gradual change of climate, and slowly melted 
away, the whole basin, then closed against the sea by a 
huge wall of debris, was transformed into a vast fresh- 
water lake. The first effect of the thawing process must 
have been to separate the glacier from its foundation, rais- 
ing it from immediate contact with the valley bottom, and 
thus giving room for the accumulation of a certain amount 
of water beneath it ; while the valley as a whole would still 
be occupied by the glacier. In this shallow sheet of water 
under the ice, and protected by it from any violent disturb- 
ance, those finer triturated materials always found at a 
glacier bottom, and ground sometimes to powder by its 
action, would be deposited, and gradually transformed from 
an unstratified paste containing the finest sand and mud, 
together with coarse pebbles and gravel, into a regularly 
stratified formation. In this formation the coarse materials 
would of course fall to the bottom, while the most minute 
would settle above them. It is at this time and under 
such circumstances that I believe the first formation of 
the Amazonian Yalley, with the coarse, pebbly sand beneath, 
and the finely laminated clays above, to have been accu- 
mulated. 

I shall perhaps be reminded here of my fossil leaves, 



PHYSICAL HISTOKY OF THE AMAZONS. 429 

and asked how any vegetation would be possible under 
such circumstances. But it must be remembered, that, 
in considering all these periods, we must allow for im- 
mense lapses of time and for very gradual changes ; that 
the close of this first period would be very different from 
its beginning ; and that a rich vegetation springs on the 
very borders of the snow and ice fields in Switzerland. 
The fact that these were accumulated in a glacial basin 
would, indeed, at once account for the traces of vegeta- 
ble life, and for the absence, or at least the great scarcity, 
of animal remains in these deposits. For while fruits 
may ripen and flowers bloom on the very edge of the 
glaciers, it is also well known that the fresh-water lakes 
formed by the melting of the ice are singularly deficient 
in life. There are, indeed, hardly any animals to be found 
in glacial lakes. 

The second formation belongs to a later period, when, 
the whole body of ice being more or less disintegrated, 
the basin contained a larger quantity of water. Beside 
that arising from the melting of the ice, this immense 
valley bottom must have received, then as now, all which 
was condensed from the atmosphere above, and poured into 
it in the form of rain or dew at present. Thus an amount 
of water equal to that flowing in from all the tributaries 
of the main stream must have been rushing towards the 
axis of the valley, seeking its natural level, but spreading 
over a more extensive surface than now, until, finally 
gathered up as separate rivers, it flowed in distinct beds. 
In its general movement toward the central and lower 
part of the valley, the broad stream would carry along 
all the materials small enough to be so transported, as 
well as those so minute as to remain suspended in the 



430 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



waters. It would gradually deposit them in the valley 
bottom in horizontal beds more or less regular, or here 
and there, wherever eddies gave rise to more rapid and 
irregular currents, characterized by torrential stratification. 
Thus has been consolidated in the course of ages the 
continuous sand formation spreading over the whole Ama- 
zonian basin, and attaining a thickness of eight hundred 
feet. 

While these accumulations were taking place within 
this basin, it must not be forgotten that the sea was beat- 
ing against its outer wall, — against that gigantic moraine 
which I suppose to have closed it at its eastern end. 
It would seem that, either from this cause, or perhaps in 
consequence of some turbulent action from within, a 
break was made in this defence, and the waters rushed 
violently out. It is very possible that the waters, gradu- 
ally swollen at the close of this period by the further 
melting of the ice, by the additions poured in from lateral 
tributaries, by the rains, and also by the filling of the basin 
with loose materials, would overflow, and thus contribute 
to destroy the moraine. However this may be, it follows 
from my premises that, in the end, these waters obtained 
a sudden release, and poured seaward with a violence 
which cut and denuded the deposits already formed, wear- 
ing them down to a much lower level, and leaving only a 
few remnants standing out in their original thickness, 
where the strata were solid enough to resist the action 
of the currents. Such are the hills of Monte Alegre, of 
Obydos, Almeyrim, and Cupati, as well as the lower ridges 
of Santarem. This escape of the waters did not, however, 
entirely empty the whole basin ; for the period of denuda- 
tion was again followed by one of quiet accumulation, 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



431 



during which was deposited the ochraceous sandy clay 
resting upon the denudated surfaces of the underlying 
sandstone. To this period I refer the boulders of Ererd, 
sunk as they are in the clay of this final deposit. I sup- 
pose them to have been brought to their present position 
by floating ice at the close of the glacial period, when 
nothing remained of the ice-fields except such isolated 
masses, — ice-rafts as it were ; or perhaps by icebergs 
dropped into the basin from glaciers still remaining in 
the Andes and on the edges of the plateaus of Guiana 
and Brazil. From the general absence of stratification 
in this clay formation, it would seem that the compar- 
atively shallow sheet of water in which it was deposited 
was very tranquil. Indeed, after the waters had sunk 
much below the level which they held during the deposi- 
tion of the sandstone, and the currents which gave rise 
to the denudation of the latter had ceased, the whole sheet 
of water would naturally become much more placid. But 
the time arrived when the water broke through its boun- 
daries again, perhaps owing to the further encroachment 
of the sea and consequent destruction of the moraine.* 
In this second drainage, however, the waters, carrying 
away a considerable part of the new deposit, furrowing 
it to its very foundation, and even cutting through it 
into the underlying sandstone, were, in the end, reduced 
to something like their present level, and confined within 
their present beds. This is shown by the fact that in 
this ochre-colored clay, and penetrating to a greater or 
less depth the sandstone below, are dug, not only the great 

* I would here remind the reader of the terraces of Glen Roy, which indicate 
successive reductions of the barrier encasing the lake, similar to those assumed 
to have taken place at the mouth of the Amazons. 



432 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



longitudinal channel of the Amazons itself, but also the 
lateral furrows through which its tributaries reach the 
main stream, and the network of anastomosing branches 
flowing between them; the whole forming the most ex 
traordinary river system in the world. 

My assumption that the sea has produced very extensive 
changes in the coast of Brazil — changes more than suffi- 
cient to account for the disappearance of the glacial wall 
which I suppose to have closed the Amazonian Valley in the 
ice period — is by no means hypothetical. This action is 
still going on to a remarkable degree, and is even now rapid- 
ly modifying the outline of the shore. ^Vhen I first arrived 
at Para, I was struck with the fact that the Amazons, the 
largest river in the world, has no delta. All the other riv- 
ers which we call great, though some of them are insignifi- 
cant as compared with the Amazons, — the Mississippi, 
the Nile, the Ganges, and the Danube, — deposit extensive 
deltas, and the smaller rivers also, with few exceptions, are 
constantly building up the land at their mouths by the ma- 
terials they bring along with them. Even the little river 
Kander, emptying into the lake of Thun, is not without its 
delta. Since my return from the Upper Amazons to Para, 
I have made an examination of some of the harbor islands, 
and also of parts of the coast, and have satisfied myself that, 
with the exception of a few small, low islands, never rising 
above the sea-level, and composed of alluvial deposit, they 
are portions of the main-land detached from it, partly by the 
action of the river itself, and partly by the encroachment of 
the ocean. In fact, the sea is eating away the land much 
faster than the river can build it up. The great island of 
Marajo was originally a continuation of the valley of the 
Amazons, and is identical with it in every detail of its geo- 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



433 



logical structure. My investigation of the island itself, in 
connection with the coast and the river, leads me to suppose 
that, having been at one time an integral part of the deposits 
described above, at a later period it became an island in the 
bed of the Amazons, which, dividing in two arms, encircled 
it completely, and then, joining again to form a single 
stream, flowed onward to the sea-shore, which in those days 
lay much farther to the eastward than it now does. I sup- 
pose the position of the island of Marajo at that time to have 
corresponded very nearly to the present position of the island 
of Tupinambaranas, just at the junction of the Madeira with 
the Amazons. It is a question among geographers whether 
the Tocantins is a branch of the Amazons, or should be con- 
sidered as forming an independent river system. It will be 
seen that, if my view is correct, it must formerly have borne 
the same relation to the Amazons that the Madeira River 
now does, joining it just where Marajo divided the main 
stream, as the Madeira now joins it at the head of the island 
of Tupinambaranas. If in countless centuries to come the 
ocean should continue to eat its way into the Valley of the 
Amazons, once more transforming the lower part of the 
basin into a gulf, as it was during the cretaceous period, 
the time might arrive when geographers, finding the Ma- 
deira emptying almost immediately into the sea, would ask 
themselves whether it had ever been indeed a branch of the 
Amazons, just as they now question whether the Tocantins 
is a tributary of the main stream or an independent river. 
But to return to Marajo, and to the facts actually in our 
possession. 

The island is intersected, in its southeastern end, by a 
considerable river called the Igarape* Grande. The cut 
made through the land by this stream seems intended to 



434 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



serve as a geological section, so perfectly does it display 
the three characteristic Amazonian formations above de- 
scribed. At its mouth, near the town of Soure*, and at Sal- 
vaterra, on the opposite bank, may be seen, lowest, the well- 
stratified sandstone, with the finely laminated clays resting 
upon it, overtopped by a crust ; then the cross-stratified, 
highly ferruginous sandstone, with quartz pebbles here and 
there ; and, above all, the well-known ochraceous, unstrati- 
fied sandy clay, spreading over the undulating surface of 
the denudated sandstone, following all its inequalities, and 
filling all its depressions and furrows. But while the Iga- 
rape* Grande has dug its channel down to the sea, cutting 
these formations, as I ascertained, to a depth of twenty-five 
fathoms, it has thus opened the way for the encroachments 
of the tides, and the ocean is now, in its turn, gaining upon 
the land. Were there no other evidence of the action of the 
tides in this locality, the steep cut of the Igarape Grande, 
contrasting with the gentle slope of the banks near its mouth, 
wherever they have been modified by the invasion of the sea, 
would enable us to distinguish flie work of the river from 
that of the ocean, and to prove that the denudation now go- 
ing on is due in part to both. But besides this, I was so 
fortunate as to discover, on my recent excursion, unmistak- 
able and perfectly convincing evidence of the onward move- 
ment of the sea. At the mouth of the Igarape' Grande, both 
at Soure and at Salvaterra, on the southern side of the Iga- 
rape, is a submerged forest. Evidently this forest grew in 
one of those marshy lands constantly inundated, for between 
the stumps is accumulated the loose, felt-like peat character- 
istic of such grounds, and containing about as much mud 
as vegetable matter. Such a marshy forest, with the stumps 
of the trees still standing erect in the peat, has been laW 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



435 



bare on both sides of the Igarape* Grande by the encroach- 
ments of the ocean. That this is the work of the sea is un- 
deniable, for all the little depressions and indentations of the 
peat are filled with sea-sand, and a ridge of tidal sand divides 
it from the forest still standing behind. Nor is this all. At 
Vigia, immediately opposite to Sour£, on the continental 
side of the Par& River, just where it meets the sea, we have 
the counterpart of this submerged forest. Another peat-bog, 
with the stumps of innumerable trees standing in it, and 
encroached upon in the same way by tidal sand, is exposed 
here also. No doubt these forests were once all continuous, 
and stretched across the whole basin of what is now called 
the Pard River. 

Since I have been pursuing this inquiry, I have gathered 
much information to the same effect from persons living on 
the coast. It is well remembered that, twenty years ago, 
there existed an island, more than a mile in width, to the 
northeast of the entrance of the Bay of Vigia, which has 
now entirely disappeared. Farther eastward, the Bay of 
Braganza has doubled its width in the last twenty years, 
and on the shore, within the bay, the sea has gained upon 
the land for a distance of two hundred yards during a 
period of only ten years. The latter fact is ascertained^ 
by the position of some houses, which were two hundred 
yards farther from the sea ten years ago than they now 
are. From these and the like reports, from my own ob- 
servations on this part of the Brazilian coast, from some 
investigations made by Major Coutinho at the mouth of 
the Amazons on its northern continental shore near Ma- 
capa, and from the reports of Mr. St. John respecting the 
formations in the valley of the Paranahyba, it is my belief 
that the changes I have been describing are but a small 



436 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



part of the destruction wrought by the sea on the north- 
eastern shore of this continent. I think it will be found, 
when the coast has been fully surveyed, that a strip of 
land not less than a hundred leagues in width, stretching 
from Cape St. Roque to the northern extremity of South 
America, has been eaten away by the ocean. If this be 
so, the Paranahyba and the rivers to the northwest of it, 
in the province of Maranham, were formerly tributaries 
of the Amazons ; and all that we know thus far of their 
geological character goes to prove that this was actually 
the case. Such an extensive oceanic denudation must 
have carried away not only the gigantic glacial moraine 
here assumed to have closed the mouth of the Amazonian 
basin, but the very ground on which it formerly stood. 
Although the terminal moraine has disappeared, there is, 
however, no reason why parts of the lateral moraines 
should not remain. And I expect in my approaching 
visit to Ceard to find traces of the southern lateral mo- 
raine in that neighborhood. 

During the last four or five years I have been engaged in 
a series of investigations, in the United States, upon the 
subject of the denudations connected with the close of the 
glacial period there, and the encroachments of the ocean 
upon the drift deposits along the Atlantic coast. Had 
these investigations been published in detail, with the ne- 
cessary maps, it would have been far easier for me to 
explain the facts I have lately observed in the Amazonian 
Valley, to connect them with facts of a like character on 
the continent of North America, and to show how re- 
markably they correspond with facts accomplished during 
the same period in other parts of the world. While the 
glacial epoch itself has been very extensively studied in 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 437 



the last half-century, little attention has been paid to 
the results connected with the breaking up of the geo- 
logical winter and the final disappearance of the ice. I 
believe that the true explanation of the presence of a 
large part of the superficial deposits lately ascribed to 
the agency of the sea, during temporary subsidences of 
the land, will be found in the melting of the ice-fields. 
To this cause I would refer all those deposits which I 
have designated as remodelled drift. When the sheet of 
ice, extending from the Arctic regions over a great part 
of North America and coming down to the sea, slowly 
melted away, the waters were not distributed over the 
face of the country as they now are. They rested upon 
the bottom deposits of the ice-fields, upon the glacial paste, 
consisting of clay, sand, pebbles, boulders, etc., underlying 
the ice. This bottom deposit did not, of course, present 
an even surface, but must have had extensive undulations 
and depressions. After the waters had been drained off 
from the more elevated ridges, these depressions would 
still remain full. In the lakes and pools thus formed, 
stratified deposits would be accumulated, consisting of the 
most minutely comminuted clay, deposited in thin lami- 
nated layers, or sometimes in considerable masses, without 
any sign of stratification ; such differences in the formation 
being determined by the state of the water, whether per- 
fectly stagnant or more or less agitated. Of such pool 
deposits overlying the drift there are many instances in 
the Northern United States. By the overflowing of some 
of these lakes, and by the emptying of the higher ones 
into those on a lower level, channels would gradually be 
formed between the depressions. So began to be marked 
out our independent river-systems, — the waters always 



438 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



seeking their natural level, gradually widening and deep- 
ening the channels in which they flowed, as they worked 
their way down to the sea. When they reached the shore, 
there followed that antagonism between the rush of the 
rivers and the action of the tides, — between continental 
outflows and oceanic encroachments, — which still goes on, 
and has led to the formation of our Eastern rivers, with 
their wide, open estuaries, such as the James, the Potomac, 
and the Delaware. All these estuaries are embanked by 
drift, as are also, in their lower course, the rivers con- 
nected with them. Where the country was low and flat, 
and the drift extended far into the ocean, the encroach- 
ment of the sea gave rise, not only to our large estuaries, 
but also to the sounds and deep bays forming the most 
prominent indentations of the continental coast, such as 
the Bay of Fundy, Massachusetts Bay, Long Island Sound, 
and others. The unmistakable traces of glacial action upon 
all the islands along the coast of New England, sometimes 
lying at a very considerable distance from the main-land, 
give an approximate, though a minimum, measure of the 
former extent of the glacial drift seaward, and the sub- 
sequent advance of the ocean upon the land. Like those 
of the harbor of Para, all these islands have the same 
geological structure as the continent, and were evidently 
continuous with it at some former period. All the rocky isl- 
ands along the coast of Maine and Massachusetts exhibit 
the glacial traces wherever their surfaces are exposed by the 
washing away of the drift ; and where the drift remains, 
its character shows that it was once continuous from one 
island to another, and from all the islands to the main-land. 

It is difficult to determine with precision the ancient 
limit of the glacial drift, but I think it can .be shown 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 



439 



that it connected the shoals of Newfoundland with the 
continent ; that Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Long 
Island made part of the main-land ; that, in like manner 
Nova Scotia, including Sable Island, was united to the 
southern shore of New Brunswick and Maine, and that 
the same sheet of drift extended thence to Cape Cod, 
and stretched southward as far as Cape Hatteras ; — in 
short, that the line of shallow soundings along the whole 
coast of the United States marks the former extent of 
glacial drift. The ocean has gradually eaten its way into 
this deposit, and given its present outlines to the conti- 
nent. These denudations of the sea no doubt began as 
soon as the breaking up of the ice exposed the drift to 
its invasion ; in other words, at a time when colossal 
glaciers still poured forth their load of ice into the At- 
lantic, and fleets of icebergs, far larger and more numer- 
ous than those now floated off from the Arctic seas, 
were launched from the northeastern shore of the United 
States. Many such masses must have stranded along the 
shore, and have left various signs of their presence. In 
fact, the glacial phenomena of the United States and 
elsewhere are due to two distinct periods : the first of 
these was the glacial epoch proper, when the ice was a 
solid sheet ; while to the second belongs the breaking up 
of this epoch, with the gradual disintegration and disper- 
sion of the ice. We talk of the theory of glaciers and 
the theory of icebergs in reference to these phenomena, 
as if they were exclusively due to one or the other, and 
whoever accepted the former must reject the latter, and 
vice versa. When geologists have combined these now 
discordant elements, and consider these two periods as 
consecutive, — part of the phenomena being due to the 



440 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



glaciers, part to the icebergs and to freshets consequent on 
their breaking up, — they will find that they have covered 
the whole ground, and that the two theories are perfectly 
consistent with each other. I think the present disputes 
upon this subject will end somewhat like those which di- 
vided the Neptunic and Plutonic schools of geologists in 
the early part of this century ; the former of whom would 
have it that all the rocks were due to the action of water, 
the latter that they were wholly due to the action of fire. 
The problem was solved, and harmony restored, when it 
was found that both elements have been equally at work 
in forming the solid crust of the globe. To the stranded 
icebergs alluded to above, I have no doubt, is to be re- 
ferred the origin of the many lakes without outlets ex- 
isting all over the sandy tract along our coast, of which 
Cape Cod forms a part. Not only the formation of these 
lakes, but also that of our salt marshes and cranberry- 
fields, I believe to be connected with the waning of the 
ice period. 

I hope at some future time to publish in detail, with 
the appropriate maps and illustrations, my observations 
upon the changes of our coast, and other phenomena con- 
nected with the close of the glacial epoch in the United 
States. To give results without an account of the investi- 
gations which have led to them, inverts the true method 
of science ; and I should not have introduced the subject 
here except to show that the fresh-water denudations and 
the oceanic encroachments which have formed the Amazo- 
nian Valley, with its river system, are not isolated facts, 
but that the process has been the same in both continents. 
The extraordinary continuity and uniformity of the Ama- 
zonian deposits are due to the immense size of the basin 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF THE AMAZONS. 441 



enclosed, and the identity of the materials contained 
in it. 

A glance at any geological map of the world will show 
the reader that the Valley of the Amazons, so far as 
an attempt is made to explain its structure, is repre- 
sented as containing isolated tracts of Devonian, Triassic, 
Jurassic, cretaceous, tertiary, and alluvial deposits. This 
is wholly inaccurate, as is shown by the above sketch, 
and whatever may be thought of my interpretation of the 
actual phenomena, I trust that, in presenting for the first 
time the formations of the Amazonian basin in their natu- 
ral connection and sequence, as consisting of three uniform 
sets of comparatively recent deposits, extending throughout 
the whole valley, the investigations here recorded have con- 
tributed something to the results of modern geology. 



19* 



* 



442 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CEARA. 

Leaving ParA. — Farewell to the Amazons. — Ease of Travelling on 
the Amazons. — Rough Passage. — Arrival at Ceara. — Difficulty 
of Landing. — Aspect of the Town. — Rainy Season. — Consequent 
Sickliness. — Our Purpose in stopping at Ceara. — Report of Dr. 
Felice about Moraines. — Preparations for Joukney into the Inte- 
rior. — Difficulties and Delays in getting off. — On the Way. — 
Night at Akancho. — Bad Roads. — Carnauba Palm. — Arrival at 
Monguba. — Kind Reception by Senhor Franklin de Lima. — Geology 
of the Region. — Evening Games and Amusements. — Pacatuba. — 
Traces of ancient Glacieks. — Serra of Aratanha. — Climb up the 
Sehra. — Hospitality of Senhor da Costa. — Picturesque Views. — 
The Sertao. — Drought and Rains. — Epidemics. — Return to Mon- 
guba. — Detained by extraordinary Rains. — Return to Ceara. — 
Overflowed Roads. — Difficulty of fording. — Arrival at Ceara. — 
Liberality of the President of the Province toward the Expedi- 
tion. 

April 2d. — Ceara. We left Para on the 26th of March, 
In the evening, feeling for the first time that we were indeed 
bidding good by to the Amazons. Our pleasant voyages on 
its yellow waters, our canoe excursions on its picturesque 
lakes and igarapes, our lingerings in its palm-thatched cot- 
tages, belonged to the past ; except in memory, our Amazo- 
nian travels were over. When we entered upon them, what 
vague anticipations, what visions of a new and interesting 
life, not, as we supposed, without its dangers and anxieties, 
were before us. So little is known, even in Brazil, of the 
Amazons, that we could obtain only very meagre and, usually, 
rather discouraging information concerning our projected 
journey. In Rio, if you say you are going to ascend their 
great river, your Brazilian friends look at you with compas- 
sionate wonder. You are threatened with sickness, with in- 



\ 



ceakA. 443 

tolerable heat, with the absence of any nourishing food or 
suitable lodgings, with mosquitoes, with Jacares and wild 
Indians. If you consult a physician, he gives you a good 
supply of quinine, and tells you to take a dose every other 
day as a preventive against fever and chills ; so that if you 
escape intermittent fever you are at least sure of being poi- 
soned by a remedy which, if administered incautiously, may 
cause a disease worse than the one it cures. It will take 
perhaps from the excitement and novelty of Amazonian 
travelling to know that the journey from Para to Tabatinga 
may be made with as much ease as a reasonable traveller 
has a right to expect, though of course not without some 
privations, and also with no more exposure to sickness than 
the traveller incurs in any hot climate. The perils and ad- 
ventures which attended the voyages of Spix and Martius, 
or even of more recent travellers, like Castelnau, Bates, and 
Wallace, are no longer to be found on the main course of 
the Amazons,, though they are met at every step on its great 
affluents. On the Tocantins, on the Madeira, on the Purus, 
on the Rio Negro, the Trombetas, or any of the large trib- 
utaries, the traveller must still work his way slowly up in 
a canoe, scorched by the sun or drenched by the rain ; sleep- 
ing on the beach, hearing the cries of the wild animals in 
the woods around him, and waking perhaps in the morning, 
to find the tracks of a tiger in unpleasant proximity to his 
hammock. But along the course of the Amazons itself, 
these days of romantic adventure and hair-breadth escapes 
are over ; the wild beasts of the forest have disappeared be- 
fore the puff of the engine ; the canoe and the encampment 
on the beach at night have given place to the prosaic con- 
veniences of the steamboat. It is no doubt true of the 
Amazons, as of other tropical regions, that a long residence 



444 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



may reduce the vigor of the constitution, and perhaps make 
one more liable to certain diseases ; but during our journey 
of eight months none of our large company suffered from 
any serious indisposition connected with the climate, nor 
did we see in any of our wanderings as many indications of 
intermittent fever as are to be met constantly on our West- 
ern rivers. The voyage on the Amazons proper has now 
become accessible to all who are willing to endure heat and 
mosquitoes for the sake of seeing the greatest river in the 
world, and the magnificent tropical vegetation along its 
shores. The best season for the journey is from the close 
of June to the middle of November, — July, August, Sep- 
tember, and October being the four driest months of the 
year, and the most salubrious throughout that region. 

We had a rough and boisterous passage from Para to 
Ceara, with unceasing rain, in consequence of which the 
decks were constantly wet. Indeed, the cabins were not 
free from water, and it was only by frequent bailing that 
the floor of our state-room was kept tolerably dry. At 
Maranham we had the relief of a night on shore ; and Mr. 
Agassiz and Major Coutinho profited by the occasion the 
following morning to examine the geology of the coast 
more carefully than they had formerly done. They found 
the structure identical with that of the Amazonian Valley, 
except that the formations were more worn down and dis- 
turbed. We arrived before Ceara at two o'clock on Sat- 
urday, March 31st, expecting to go on shore at once ; but 
the sea ran high, the tide was unfavorable, and during the 
day not even a "jangada," those singular rafts that here 
take the place of boats, ventured out to our steamer as 
she lay rocking in the surf. Ceard has no harbor, and the 
sea drives in with fearful violence on the long sand-beach 



CEABA. 



445 



fronting the town, making it impossible, at certain states 
of the tide and in stormy weather, for any boat to land, 
unless it be one of these jangadas (catamarans), over which 
the waves break without swamping them. At about nine 
o'clock in the evening a custom-house boat came out, and, 
notwithstanding the lateness of the hour and the rough sea, 
we determined to go on shore, for we were told that in the 
morning the tide would be unfavorable, and if the wind 
continued in the present quarter it might be still more dif- 
ficult, if not impossible, to land. It was not without some 
anxiety that I stood waiting my turn to enter the boat ; for 
though at one moment it rose, on the swell of the sea, close 
to the stair, in the twinkling of an eye it was a couple of 
yards away. Some presence of mind and agility were 
needed in order to make the leap just at the right instant ; 
and I was glad to find myself in the boat and not in the 
water, the chances being about even. As we rode in over 
the breakers, the boatmen entertained us with so many sto- 
ries of the difficulty of landing, the frequent accidents, and 
especially of one which had occurred a few days before when 
three Englishmen had been drowned, that I began to think 
reaching the shore must be more perilous than leaving the 
i hip. As we approached the town the scene was not with- 
out its picturesque charm. The moon, struggling through 
gray, watery clouds, threw a fitful light over the long sand- 
beach, on which the crested waves were driving furiously. 
A number of laden boats were tossing in the surf, and the 
roar of the breakers mingled with the cries of the black 
porters, as they waded breast high through the water, un- 
loading the cargoes and carrying their burdens to the shore 
on their heads. We were landed much in the same way, 
the boatmen carrying us over the surf. This is the ordi- 



446 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



nary mode of embarking or landing passengers ; it is but 
rarely, and at particular states of the tide, that it is pos- 
sible to disembark at the pier which has been thrown out 
from the shore. Major Coutinho had written to a friend 
to engage lodgings for us, and we found a house ready. 
I was glad to sink into my comfortable hammock, to ex- 
change the pitching and rolling of the steamer for its gentle 
rocking, to be out of reach of the hungry waves, and yet to 
hear their distant rush on the shore as I fell asleep. 

The next morning was rainy, but in the afternoon it 
cleared, and toward evening we took a long drive with our 
host, Dr. Felice. I like the aspect of Ceara. I like its 
wide, well-paved, cleanly streets, which are bright with 
color, for the substantial houses on either side are of many 
hues. If it chance to be a Sunday or a festa day, every 
balcony is filled with gayly-dressed girls, while groups of 
men sit smoking and talking on the sidewalks before the 
doors. This town has not the stagnant, inanimate look of 
many Brazilian towns. It tells of movement, life, pros- 
perity.* Beyond the city the streets stretch out into the 
campos, bordered on its inland side by beautiful serras ; 
the Serra Grande and the Serra de Baturite*. In front 
of the city stretches the broad sand-beach, and the mur- 
mur of the surf comes up into the heart of the town. 
It seems as if, so lying between sea and mountain, Ceard 
should be a healthy place, and it is usually so reputed. 
But at this moment, owing, it is thought, to the unusual 
continuance of the dry season and the extraordinary vio- 
lence of the rains, now that they have begun, the town 

* The prosperous province of Ceara has found in Senator Pompeo a worthy 
exponent of its interests ; not only does he represent the province at Rio de 
Janeiro, hut, hy the publication of careful statistics, has largely contributed to 
its progress. — L. A. 



CEARA. 



447 



is very sickly. Yellow-fever is prevalent, and there have 
been a good many deaths from it recently, though it is 
said not to have assumed the character of an epidemic 
as yet. Still more fatal is the malignant dysentery, which 
has been raging both in town and country for the last 
two months. 

We are trying to hasten the arrangements for our inland 
journey, but do not find it very easy. Mr. Agassiz's object 
in stopping here is to satisfy himself by direct investigation 
of the former existence of glaciers in the serras of this 
province, and, if possible, to find some traces of the south- 
ern lateral moraine, marking the limit of the mass of ice 
which he supposes to have filled the Amazonian basin in 
the glacial period. In the Amazonian Valley itself he has 
seen that all the geological phenomena are connected with 
the close of the glacial period, with the melting of the 
ice and the immense freshets consequent upon its disap- 
pearance. On leaving the Amazons, the next step in the 
investigation was to seek the masses of loose materials 
left by the glacier itself. On arriving here he at once 
made inquiries to this effect, from a number of persons 
who have travelled a great deal in the province, and are 
therefore familiar with its features. The most valuable 
information he has obtained, — valuable from the fact, 
that the precision with which it is given shows that it 
may be relied upon, — is from Dr. Felice. His occupa- 
tion as land-surveyor has led him to travel a great deal 
in the region of the Serra Grande. He has made a valu- 
able map of this portion of the province, and he tells Mr. 
Agassiz that there is a wall of loose materials, boulders, 
stones, &c, running from east to west for a distance of 
some sixty leagues from the Rio Aracaty-Assu to Bom Jesu, 



448 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



in the Serra Grande. From his account, this wall resem- 
bles greatly the " Horsebacks " in Maine, those remarkable 
ridges accumulated by the ancient glaciers, and running 
sometimes uninterruptedly for thirty or forty miles. The 
horsebacks are, however, covered with soil and turf, where- 
as Dr. Felice describes this wall as rough and bare. Mr. 
Agassiz has no doubt that this accumulation or dike of 
loose materials, the position and direction of which cor- 
responds exactly with his conjecture based upon the evi- 
dence obtained in the Amazonian Valley, is a portion of 
the lateral moraine, marking the southeastern limit of the 
great Amazonian glacier. Unhappily, it is impossible for 
him to visit it himself, for even could he devote the time 
necessary for so long a journey in the interior, we are 
told that at this season the state of the roads makes it 
almost impossible. He must therefore leave the iden- 
tification of this colossal moraine to some younger and 
more fortunate investigator, and content himself with a 
direct examination of the next link in the chain of evi- 
dence, namely, the traces of local glaciers in the serras in 
the more immediate neighborhood of Ceara. If the basin 
of the Amazons was actually filled with ice, all the moun- 
tains lying outside of its limits in the neighboring provinces 
must have had their glaciers also. It is in search of these 
local glaciers that we undertake our present journey, hoping 
to reach the Serra of Baturite\ 

April 6th. — Pacatuba (at the foot of the Serra of Ara- 
tanha). After endless delays and difficulties about horses, 
servants, and other preparations for our journey, we succeed- 
ed in getting off on the afternoon of the 3d. The mode 
of travelling in the interior as well as the character of the 
people, makes it almost impossible to accomplish any journey 



CEARA. 



449 



with promptness and punctuality. While the preparations 
for our excursion were going on, neighbors and acquaint- 
ances would stroll in to see how things were advancing ; one 
would propose that we should postpone our departure till 
the day after to-morrow, on account of some trouble about 
the horses ; another that we should wait a week or two 
lor more favorable weather. Evidently it did not occur to 
any one that it could be of much importance whether we 
started to-day or to-morrow, or next week or next month. 
The lotus-eaters in the " land in which it seemed always 
afternoon" could not have been more happily indhTerent 
to the passage of time. Now this calm superiority to 
laws obeyed by the rest of mankind, this ignoring of the 
great dictum " tempus fugit" is rather exasperating to a 
man who has only the fortnight intervening between two 
steamers in which to accomplish his journey, and knows 
the time to be all too short for the objects he has in view. 
These habits of procrastination are much less marked in 
those parts of Brazil where railroad and steam travel have 
been introduced ; though it cannot be said that promptness 
and despatch are anywhere familiar qualities in this coun- 
try. Our delays in this particular instance were in no way 
owing to any want of interest in our plans ; on the contrary, 
we met here, as everywhere, the most cordial sympathy with 
the objects of the expedition, and the President of the 
province, as well as other persons, were ready to give every 
assistance in their power. But a stranger cannot of course 
expect the habits of the people to be changed to suit his 
convenience, and we did but share in the general slowness 
of movement. However, we were at last on the way ; 
our party consisting of Major Coutinho, Senhor Pompeo, 
Government Engineer of the province, whom the Presi- 

c c 



450 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



dent had kindly detailed to accompany us, Mr. Agassiz. 
and myself. We had a servant, also provided by the 
President, one of his guard, and two men, with a couple 
of pack-mules for baggage and provisions. We started 
so late in the day, that our first ride was but a league 
or so out of the town ; short as it was, however, we did 
not escape several showers, always to be expected at this 
season. Yet the ride was pleasant ; a smell as of huckle- 
berry meadows came from the low growth of shrubs cover- 
ing the fields for miles around, and the very earth was 
fragrant from the rain. As we left the city, low clouds, 
full of distant showers, hung over the serras, and gave 
them a sombre beauty, more impressive, if less cheerful, 
than their sunshine look. At six o'clock we reached Aran- 
cho, a village where we were to pass the night. As we 
rode in at dusk, it seemed to me only a little cluster of low 
mud-houses ; but I found, by daylight, there were one or 
two buildings of more pretentious character. We stopped 
at the end of the principal street, before the venda (village 
inn). At the door, which opened across the middle, al- 
lowing its lower half to serve as a sort of gate, stood 
the host, little expecting guests on this dark, rainy night. 
He was a fat old man, with a head as round as a bullet, 
covered with very short white curly hair, and a face 
beaming with good nature, but reddened also by many 
potations. He was dressed in white cotton drawers with 
a shirt hanging loose over them; his feet were stocking- 
less, but he had on a pair of the wooden-soled slippers, 
down at heel, of which you hear the "clack, clack" in 
every town and village during the rainy season. He 
opened the gate and admitted us into a small room fur- 
nished with a hammock, a sofa, and a few chairs, the mud 



CEARA. 



451 



walls adorned with some coarse prints, of which the old 
gentleman seemed very proud. He said if we could be 
satisfied with such accommodation as he had, the gentle- 
men to sling their hammocks in the sitting-room with him, 
the Senhora to sleep with his wife and the children in the 
only other room he had to offer, he should be happy to 
receive us. I confess that the prospect was not encourag- 
ing ; but I was prepared to meet with inconveniences, 
knowing that even a short journey into the interior involved 
discomforts, and when the hostess presently entered and 
made me heartily welcome to a corner of her apartment, 
I thanked her with such cordiality as I could muster. She 
was many years younger than her husband, and still very 
handsome, with an Oriental kind of beauty, rather enhanced 
by her dress. She wore a red muslin wrapper, somewhat 
the worse for wear, but still brilliant in color ; and her long 
black hair hung loose and unbraided over her shoulders. 
An hour or two later supper was announced. We had 
brought the greater part of it with us from the city, but 
we invited all the family to sup with us, according to the 
fashion of the country. The old gentleman completed 
his toilet by adding to it a gaudy-flowered cotton dress- 
ing-gown, and seating himself at the table, contemplated 
the roast-chickens and claret with no little satisfaction. 
From the appearance of things, such a meal must have 
been a rarity in his house. The mud floor of the kitchen 
where we supped was sloppy, and its leaky roof and broken 
walls were but dimly lighted by the coarse guttering candles 
made from the Carnauba palm. I presently heard a loud 
gobbling close by my side ; and, looking down, saw by 
the half-light a black pig feeding at a little table with 
the two children, assisted also by the dog and the cat. 



452 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



Supper over, I proposed to go to the common sleeping 
apartment, preferring to be in advance of my companions. 
It was a little room, some ten feet square, behind the 
one where we had been received, and without any window. 
This is not, however, so great an objection here, where 
the roofs are so open that a great deal of air comes from 
above. Once . ensconced in my hammock I began to watch 
the arrival of my room-mates with some curiosity. First 
entered a young girl and her little sister, who stowed 
themselves away in one of the beds ; then came the ser- 
vant-maid and hung herself up in her hammock in a 
corner ; and lastly arrived the landlady, who took posses- 
sion of the other bed, and completed the charms of the 
scene by lighting her pipe to have a quiet smoke before 
she went to sleep. I cannot say the situation was favor- 
able to rest ; the heavy showers which rattled on the tiles 
throughout the night penetrated the leaky roof, and, how- 
ever I changed my position in the hammock, it rained 
into my face ; fleas were abundant ; the silence was occa- 
sionally broken by the crying of the children, or the grunt- 
ing of the pig at the door, and for my part I was very 
glad when five o'clock called us all to get up, our plan 
being to start at six and ride three leagues before breakfast. 
However, on a journey of this kind, it is one thing to intend 
going anywhere at a particular time and quite another to 
accomplish it. When we met at six o'clock in readiness 
for our journey, two of the horses were not to be found ; 
they had strayed away during the night. Though accidents 
of this kind are a constant subject of complaint, it does 
not seem to occur to any one to secure the horses for the 
night ; it is indeed far easier to let them roam about and 
provide for themselves. The servants were sent to look for 



CEARA. 



453 



them, and we sat waiting, and losing the best hours 
of the morning, till, in their own good time, men and 
beasts reappeared. We were at last on the road at half 
past eight o'clock ; but, unhappily, it was just during 
our two hours of inaction that the rain, which had been 
pouring in torrents all night, had ceased for a time. We 
had scarcely started when it began again, and accompanied 
us for a great part of the way on our long three leagues' ride. 
We came now for the first time on the Carnauba palm 
(Copernicia cerifera), so invaluable for its many useful 
properties. It furnishes an admirable timber, strong and 
durable, from which the rafters of all the houses in this 
region are made ; it yields a wax which, if the process 
of refining and bleaching it were understood, would make 
an excellent candle, and which, as it is, is used for 
light throughout the province ; from its silky fibre very 
strong thread and cordage are manufactured ; the heart 
of the leaves, when cooked, makes an excellent vegetable, 
resembling delicate cabbage ; and, finally, it provides a 
very nourishing fodder for cattle. It is a saying in the 
province of Ceara, that where the Carnauba palm abounds 
a man has all he needs for himself and his horse. The 
stem is tall, and the leaves so arranged around the sum- 
mit as to form a close spherical crown, entirely unlike 
that of any other palm.* 

If we had to lament the rain, we were fortunate in not 
having the sun on our journey, for the forest is low and 
affords but little shade. The road was in a terrible con- 
dition from the long-continued rains, and though there 

* For a very interesting treatise on this palm, and the various hranches 
of industry it may be made to subserve, see " Notice sur le Palmier Carnauba," 
par M. A. de Macedo, Paris, 1867, 8°. 



454 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



are no rivers of any importance between the town and 
the Serra of Monguba, to which we were bound, yet 
in several places the little streams were swollen to a con- 
siderable depth ; and, owing to the broken condition of the 
bottom, full of holes and deep ruts, they were by no means 
easy to ford. After a fatiguing ride of four hours, during 
which we inquired, two or three times, how far we had still 
to go, and always received the same answer, " uma legua," 
that league never seeming to diminish with our advance, 
we were delighted to find ourselves at the little bridle-path 
which turned off from the main road and led us to the 
fazenda of Senhor Franklin de Lima. The traveller is 
always welcome who asks hospitality at a Brazilian coun- 
try house, but Major Coutinho had already stayed at this 
fazenda on previous journeys, and we shared the welcome 
given to him as an old friend. The hospitality of our 
excellent hosts repaid us for all the fatigues of our jour- 
ney, and our luggage being still on the road, their kindness 
supplied the defects of our toilet, which was in a lamentable 
condition after splashing through muddy water two or three 
feet deep. Mr. Agassiz, however, could not spare time to 
rest ; we had followed a morainic soil for a great part of 
our journey, had passed many boulders on the road, and 
he was anxious to examine the Serra of Monguba, on 
the slope of which Senhor Franklin has his coffee plan- 
tation, and at the foot of which his house stands. He 
was, therefore, either on foot or on horseback the greater 
part of this day and the following one, examining the 
geological structure of the mountain, and satisfying him- 
self that, here too, all the valleys have had their glaciers, 
and that these valleys have brought down from the hill- 
sides into the plains boulders, pebbles, and debris of 



CEARA. 



455 



all sorts. In this pleasant home, in the midst of the 
bright, intelligent circle composing the family of Senhor 
Franklin, we passed two days. After breakfast we dis- 
persed to our various occupations, the gentlemen being 
engaged in excursions in the neighborhood ; the evening 
brought us together again, and was enlivened with music, 
dancing, and games. The Brazilians are fond of games, 
and play them with much wit and animation. One of 
their favorite games is called " the market of saints " ; 
it is very amusing when there are two or three bright 
people to act the prominent parts. One person performs 
the salesman, another the padre who comes to purchase 
a saint for his chapel ; the company enact the saints, 
covering their faces with tlieir handkerchiefs, and remain- 
ing as motionless as possible. The salesman brings in the 
padre, and, taking him from one to another in turn, de- 
scribes all their extraordinary miraculous qualities, their 
wonderful lives and pious deaths. After a few introduc- 
tory remarks on the subject of the purchase, the hand- 
kerchief is drawn off, and if the saint keeps his counte- 
nance and remains immovable during all the ridiculous 
things that are said about him, he comes off scot free ; 
but if he laughs he is subject to a forfeit. There are 
indeed few who stand the test ; for if the salesman has 
any tact in the game, he knows how to seize upon any 
funny incident or characteristic quality connected with the 
individual, and give it prominence. Perhaps the reader, 
knowing something of our hunt for glaciers, may guess 
this saint, Major Coutinho being salesman. " This, Sen- 
hor Padre, is rather a stout saint, but still of most pious 
disposition, and, meu Padre ! a wonderful worker of 
miracles ; he can fill these valleys with ice, he covers the 



456 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



mountains with snow in the hottest days, he brings the 
stones from the top of the serra to the bottom, he finds 
animals in the bowels of the earth and brings out their 
bones." " Ah ! " replies the padre, " a wonderful saint, 
truly ! such an one as I need for my chapel ; let me 
look upon his face." Handkerchief withdrawn, and the 
saint in question of course loses his forfeit. Yesterday, 
after breakfast, we left our pleasant friends and came on 
to the little village of Pacatuba, a league farther inland, 
and most picturesquely situated at the foot of the Serra 
of Aratanha. Here we are fortunate in finding an empty 
" sobrada " (two-storied house), in which we shall establish 
ourselves for the two or three days we mean to spend in 
this neighborhood. We have had it swept out, have hung 
our hammocks in the vacant rooms, which, with the excep- 
tion of a straw sofa and a few chairs, are innocent of 
furniture ; and if we find it rather forlorn within doors, 
we have at least beautiful views from all our windows. 

April 1th. — Pacatuba. We have already ascertained 
that our exploration must be confined to the serras in the 
midst of which we find ourselves ; for every one tells us 
that, in the present state of the roads, it would be impossi- 
ble to go to Baturite and return in the short time we have 
at our disposal. However, Mr. Agassiz is not disappointed ; 
for he says a farther journey could only give him glacial 
phenomena on a larger scale, which he finds here immedi- 
ately about him in the greatest perfection. On this very 
Serra of Aratanha, at the foot of which we happen to have 
taken up our quarters, the glacial phenomena are as legible 
as in any of the valleys of Maine, or in those of the moun- 
tains of Cumberland in England. It had evidently a local 
glacier, formed by the meeting of two arms, which de- 



CEARA. 



457 



scended from two depressions spreading right and left on 
the upper part of the serra, and joining below in the main 
valley. A large part of the medial moraine formed by 
the meeting of these two arms can still be traced in the 
central valley. One of the lateral moraines is perfectly pre- 
served, the village road cutting through it ; while the vil- 
lage itself is built just within the terminal moraine, which 
is thrown up in a long ridge in front of it. It is a curious 
fact that, in the centre of the medial moraine, formed by a 
little mountain stream making its way through the ridge of 
rocks and boulders, is a delicious bathing pool, overgrown 
by orange-trees and palms. As Mr. Agassiz came down 
from the serra yesterday, heated with his hunt after glaciers 
under a tropical sun, he stopped to bathe in this pool. He 
said, as he enjoyed its refreshing coolness, he could not but 
be struck with the contrast between the origin of this basin 
and the vegetation which now surrounds it ; to say nothing 
of the odd coincidence that he, a naturalist of the nine- 
teenth century, should be bathing under the shade of palms 
and orange-trees on the very spot where he sought and 
found the evidence of a cold so intense that it heaped the 
mountains with ice. 

April 9th. — Yesterday, at seven o'clock in the morning, 
we left Pacatuba for the house of Senhor da Costa, lying 
half-way up the serra, at a height of about eight hundred 
feet above the level of the sea. The path up the serra is 
wild and picturesque, lined with immense boulders, and 
shaded with large trees ; while here and there a little cas- 
cade comes brawling down over the rocks. In this climate, 
a road so broken by boulders is especially beautiful, on ac- 
count of the luxuriance of the vegetation. Exquisite vines, 
shrubs, and even trees spring up wherever they can find the 
20 



458 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



least soil in which to strike root ; and many of these iso- 
lated rocks are gardens in themselves. One immense 
boulder in the path is split, and from its centre springs a 
palm all draperied in vines. Of the native trees, the G-eni- 
papu (Genipa braziliensis), the Imbauba (Cecropia), the 
Carnauba (Copernicia cerifera), the Catole (Attalea hu- 
milis), and the Pao d'Arco (Tecoma speciosa) are most 
prominent. The latter is so named because the Indians 
make their bows from its tough, elastic wood. Though not 
native to the soil, bananas, cocoa-nut palms, orange-trees, 
as well as cotton and coffee shrubs, are abundant. The 
cultivation of coffee, which thrives admirably on the slopes 
of all the serras, is the great source of prosperity here ; but, 
at least in the sitios we have visited, it is difficult to judge 
of the extent of the plantations on account of the irregular 
manner of planting. The crops are, however, very large, 
and the coffee superior in quality. I found the climb up the 
precipitous serra exceedingly fatiguing. The people who 
live on the mountain come and go constantly, even with their 
children, on horseback ; but as our horses were from the 
city, and unaccustomed to mountain paths, we had preferred 
ascending on foot, especially as the rains had made the road 
more rough and broken than usual. A mountain scramble 
in this country is very different from the same thing in tem- 
perate climates. The least exertion induces excessive per- 
spiration ; and if, when thus drenched to the skin, you stop to 
rest, you are chilled by the slightest breeze. I was very glad 
when, after about an hour's climbing, we reached the sitio 
of Senhor da Costa, on the slope of the serra. Donna Maria 
laughed at me for coming up on foot, and said I should have 
mounted like a man, as she does, and ascended the serra on 
horseback. Indeed, I think a lady who is obliged to make a 



cearA. 



459 



journey in the interior of Brazil should dress Blooiner-fashion 
and mount en cavalier. A lady's seat on horseback is too 
insecure for dangerous mountain roads, or for fording 
streams ; and her long skirt is another inconvenience. 

Nothing can be more picturesque than the situation of 
this sitio. It is surrounded by magnificent masses of rock, 
which seem embedded in the forest, as it were ; and by its 
side a cascade comes leaping down through the trees, so hid- 
den by them that, though you hear the voice of the water 
constantly, you only see its glimmer here and there among 
the green foliage. The house itself stands on a fine speci- 
men of moraine, flanked on one side by a bank of red mo- 
rainic soil, overtopped by boulders. It is so built in among 
huge masses of rock that its walls seem half natural. At 
the foot of the mountain spreads the Sertao, stretching 
level for the most part to the ocean, though broken here 
and there by billowy hills rising isolated from its surface. 
Beyond it many miles away may be seen the yellow lines 
of the sand-dunes on the shore, and the white glitter of the 
sea. The Sertao (desert) is beautifully green now, and 
spreads out like a verdant prairie below. But in the dry 
season it justifies its name and becomes a very desert indeed, 
being so parched that all vegetation is destroyed. The 
drought is so great during eight months of the year, that 
the country people living in the Sertao are often in danger 
of famine from the drying up of all the crops.* After this 
long dry season the rains often set in with terrible violence, 

* But for the existence of a shrub allied to our hawthorn, and known to 
botanists as Zizyphus Joazeiro, the cattle would suffer excessively during the 
drought. This shrub is one of the few plants common to this latitude which 
does not lose its foliage dining the dry season, and, happily for the inhabitants, 
all the herbivorous domesticated animals delight to feed upon it. — L. A. 



460 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



and it is at this time that epidemics are developed, such as 
prevail now. It rains day and night for weeks at a time, till 
everything is penetrated with dampness ; and when the hot 
sun comes out upon the soaked and steaming earth, it is far 
more injurious than in the dry season. One cannot wonder 
at the prevailing sickness, for the humidity seems to per- 
meate everything with subtle power. The walls, the floors, 
the very furniture, — your hammock at night and your 
clothes in the morning, — feel damp and have a sort of 
clammy chill ; and the sun comes out with such fitful 
gleams, that, intense as is its heat while it lasts, nothing be- 
comes thoroughly dried. 

Toward nightfall we went to see the sunset from a boul- 
der of enormous size, which seems to have stopped inexpli- 
cably on the steep descent. It juts out from the mountain- 
side, and commands even a more extensive view than the 
house above. I could not help thinking, as we stood on the 
edge of this immense mass of rock, that, as it seemed to 
have stopped for no particular reason, it might start again 
at any minute, and bring one to the bottom of the serra 
with unpleasant rapidity. 

April 10th. — Yesterday afternoon we returned to Paca- 
tuba, descending the serra much more rapidly and with far 
less fatigue than we had ascended. We would gladly have 
availed ourselves longer of the pleasant hospitality of our 
hosts, who very graciously urged us to stay; but time is 
precious, and we are anxious not to miss the next steamer. 
Donna Maria's kindness followed us down the mountain, 
however, for scarcely had we reached the house before an 
excellent dinner — stewed fowls, beef, vegetables, etc. — ar- 
rived, borne on the heads of two negroes. When I saw the 
load these men had brought so steadily down the same path 



CEAKA. 461 

over which I had come rolling, pitching, tumbling, sliding, — 
any way, in short, but walking, — I envied their dexterity, 
and longed to be as sure-footed as these shoeless, half naked, 
ignorant blacks. To-day we leave Pacatuba for the house 
of Senhor Franklin, on our way back to Ceard. 

April 12th. — On the 10th we returned to Monguba, 
where we passed that day and the following night at the 
fazenda of our friends, the Franklins. The next morning 
we had intended to start at six o'clock on our way to the 
city. No sooner were the horses at the door, however, and 
the pack-mules ready, than a pouring rain began. We 
waited for it to pass, but it was followed by shower after 
shower, falling in solid sheets. So the day wore on till 
twelve o'clock, when there was a lull, with a prospect of 
fine weather, and we started. I could not help feeling some 
anxiety, for I remembered the streams we had forded in 
coming, and wondered what they would be after these tor- 
rents. Fortunately, before we reached the first of them, we 
met two negroes, who warned us that there was a great deal 
of water on the road. We hired them to come on with us, 
and guide my horse. When we reached the spot it really 
looked appalling. The road was inundated to a consider- 
able distance, and the water rushed across it with great vio- 
lence, having in many places a depth of four or five feet, 
and a strong current. If there had been a sound bottom 
to rely upon, the wetting would have been nothing; but 
the road, torn up by the rains, was full of holes and deep 
gullies, so that the horses, coming unexpectedly on these 
inequalities, would suddenly flounder up to their necks in 
water, and recover their footing only by kicking and plung- 
ing. We crossed four such streams, one man leading my 
horse while the gentlemen followed close behind, and the 



462 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



second negro walking in front to see where it was possible to 
pass without getting completely out of depth. These streams, 
not quite deep enough to allow the horse to swim, and with 
such a broken bottom that he is in constant danger of fall- 
ing, are sometimes more difficult of passage than a river. 
We met with only one accident, however, which, as it did no 
harm, was rather ludicrous than otherwise. The negroes had 
left us, saying there was no more deep water in the road, and 
when we came presently to a shallow stream we entered it 
quite confidently. It was treacherous, however, for just on 
its edge was a soft, adhesive bog-mud. In entering, the horses 
stepped across this quagmire, but their hind legs were in- 
stantly caught in it. Major Coutinho, who was riding at my 
side, seized my bridle, and, spurring his own horse violent- 
ly, both the animals extricated themselves at once by a 
powerful effort. Our servant, who followed behind, was not 
so fortunate ; he was mounted on a small mule, which 
seemed likely to be swallowed up bodily for a moment, so 
suddenly did it disappear in the mire ; the man fell off, and 
it was some minutes before he and his animal regained the 
road, a mass of mud and dripping with water. We reached 
Ceara at five in the afternoon, having made a journey of five 
leagues. Every one tells us that the state of the roads is 
most unusual, such continuous rains not having been known 
for many years. The sickness in the city continues un- 
abated, and a young man who was attacked with yellow- 
fever in the next house before we left has died in our 
absence. Everywhere on our journey we have heard the 
same complaints of prevalent epidemics, and the authorities 
are beginning to close the schools in the town on account of 
them. The steamer is due in a day or two, and we are mak- 
ing our preparations for departure. We should not bid good 



CEARA. 



463 



by to Ceara without acknowledging the sympathy shown by 
the President of the Province, Senhor Homem de Mello, in 
the objects of the expedition. Mr. Agassiz has received a col- 
lection of palms and fishes, the directions for which he had 
given before starting for the Serra, but the expenses of 
which are defrayed by the President, who insists upon their 
being received as a contribution from the province. Mr. 
Agassiz is also greatly indebted to Senhor Felice, at whose 
house we have lodged, for efficient help in collecting, and to 
Senhor Cicero de Lima for a collection of fishes and insects 
from the interior. I conclude this chapter with a few pas- 
sages from notes made by Mr. Agassiz during his examina- 
tion of the Serra of Aratanha and the site of Pacatuba. 

" I spent the rest of the day in a special examination of 
the right lateral moraine, and part of the front moraine of 
the glacier of Pacatuba ; my object was especially to ascer- 
tain whether what appeared a moraine at first might not, 
after all, be a spur of the serra, decomposed in place. I as- 
cended the ridge to its very origin, and there crossed into an 
adjoining depression, immediately below the Sitio of Captain 
Henriquez, where I found another glacier bottom of smaller 
dimensions, the ice of which probably never reached the 
plain. Everywhere in the ridges encircling these depres- 
sions the loose materials and large boulders are so accumu- 
lated and embedded in clay or sand that their morainic 
character is unmistakable. Occasionally, where a ledge 
of the underlying rock crops out, in places where the drift 
has been removed by denudation, the difference between the 
moraine and the rock decomposed in place is recognized at 
once. It is equally easy to distinguish the boulders which 
here and there have rolled down from the mountain and 
stopped against the moraine. The three things are side by 



464 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



side, and might at first be easily confounded ; but a little 
familiarity makes it easy to distinguish them. Where the 
lateral moraine turns toward the front of the ancient glacier, 
near the point at which the brook of Pacatuba cuts through 
the former, and a little to the west of the brook, there are 
colossal boulders leaning against the moraine, from the sum- 
mit of which they have probably rolled down. Near the 
cemetery the front moraine consists almost entirely of small 
quartz pebbles ; there are, however, a few larger blocks 
among them. The medial moraine extends nearly through 
the centre of the village, while the left-hand lateral moraine 
lies outside of the village, at its eastern end, and is traversed 
by the road leading to Ceara. It is not impossible that east- 
wards a third tributary of the serra may have reached the 
main glacier of Pacatuba. I may say, that in the whole 
valley of Hasli there are no accumulations of morainic ma- 
terials more characteristic than those I have found here, — 
not even about the Kirchet ; neither are there any remains 
of the kind more striking about the valleys of Mount Desert 
in Maine, where the glacial phenomena are so remarkable, 
nor in the valleys of Lough Fine, Lough Augh, and Lough 
Long in Scotland, where the traces of ancient glaciers are 
so distinct. In none of these localities are the glacial phe- 
nomena more legible than in the Serra of Aratanha. I hope 
that before long some members of the Alpine Club, thor- 
oughly familiar with the glaciers of the Old World, not only 
in their present, but also in their past condition, will come 
to these mountains of Ceard and trace the outlines of their 
former glaciers more extensively than it has been possible 
for me to do in this short journey. It would be an easy ex- 
cursion, since steamers from Liverpool and Bordeaux reach 
Pernambuco in about ten days, arriving twice a month, while 



CEARA. 



465 



Brazilian steamers make the trip from Pernambuco to Ceai-4 
in two days. The nearest serra in which I have observed 
traces of ancient glaciers is reached from Ceard in one day 
on horseback. The best season for such a journey would be 
June and July, at the close of the rainy season, and before 
the great droughts of the dry season have began." 



20* 



D D 



466 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



CHAPTEE XV. 

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF RIO DE JANEIRO. — ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 

Voyage from Ceara\ — Freshets at Pernambuco. — Arrival at Rio. — 
Collections. — Vegetation about Rio as compared with that on the 
Amazons. — Misericordia Hospital. — Charities connected with it. 

— Almsgiving in Brazil. — Insane Asylum. — Military School. — 
The Mint. — Academy of Fine Arts. — Heroism of a Negro. — Primary 
School for Girls. — Neglected Education of Women in Brazil. — 
Blind Asylum. — Lectures. — Character of the Brazilian Audience. 

— Organ Mountains. — Walk up the Serra. — Theresopolis — Visit to 
the "St. Louis" Fazenda. — Climate of Theresopolis. — Descent of 
the Serra. — Geologt of the Organ Mountains. — The Last Word. 

May 29f,V — We arrived in Rio more than a month ago, 
having left Ceara on the 16th of April. There was nothing 
worth recording in our voyage down the coast, except that 
at Pernambuco we found the country even more overflowed 
by the recent rains than it had been at Ceara. Going to 

breakfast with our friends, Mr. and Mrs. R , only four 

or five miles from the city, we passed through portions of 
the road where the water was nearly level with the floor of 
the carriage ; and temporary ferries were established by 
negroes, who were plying rafts and canoes between the 
shores for the benefit of foot-passengers. A mile or two 

beyond Mr. R 's house we were told that the road, 

though one of the most frequented in the neighborhood of 
the city, had become quite impassable. We saw many over- 
flowed gardens and houses abandoned because the water 
was already above the windows of the ground-floor. 

We had a warm welcome back to the beautiful bay of 
Rio, on board the " Susquehanna," just then in the harbor. 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 467 

Captain Taylor sent his boat at once to our steamer, and 
we were soon on his deck, received so cordially by him and 
his officers, and by a party of American friends who were 
making a visit to his ship, that it seemed like an anticipa- 
tion of our arrival at home. There is nothing so pleasant 
as an unexpected meeting with one's own fellow-citizens on 
coming into a foreign port, and this was a delightful sur- 
prise to us. 

We are again in our old quarters in the Rua Direita, 
and, except that our fellow-travellers are all scattered, it 
would seem as if we had stepped back a year. Since our 
return, Mr. Agassiz has been arranging and despatching to 
the United States the numerous specimens which have been 
sent in during our absence. Among them is the large and 
very complete collection made for him by the Emperor last 
summer, when in command of the army at the South. It 
contains fishes from several of the southern fresh-water 
basins, and includes a great number of new species. Taken 
in connection with the Amazonian collections and those 
from the interior, it affords material for an extensive com- 
parison of the faunae of the southern and northern fresh- 
waters in Brazil. 

Our excursions since our return have been only in the 
neighborhood of the city to Petropolis and the Dom Pedro 
Railroad. We are surprised, on returning to this road 
while our Amazonian impressions are fresh in our minds, 
to find that the vegetation, the richness of which amazed us 
when we first arrived in Brazil, looks almost meagre in com- 
parison to that with which we have since been familiar. It 
is dwarfed, to our eye, by the still more luxuriant growth 
of the north. 

Yesterday was Mr. Agassiz's birthday, again made very 



46* 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



bright to us by the cordial testimony of kind feeling and 
sympathy from his friends and countrypeople. In the even- 
ing we were pleasantly surprised by a torchlight procession 
in his honor, formed by the German and Swiss residents of 
Rio de Janeiro. The festivities concluded with a serenade 
under our windows by the German club. 

June 4:th. — When we were in Rio de Janeiro last year, 
Mr. Agassiz was so much occupied with the plans of the 
expedition that he was unable to visit the schools of the 
city, its charitable institutions, and the like. Being unwill- 
ing to leave Brazil without knowing something of the pub- 
lic works in its largest capital, we are now engaged in 
" sight-seeing." This morning we visited the Misericordia 
Hospital. Perhaps it will give a better idea of this institu- 
tion, and of the influences under which it at present exists, 
to speak of it first as it was formerly. Nearly forty years 
ago there was in Rio de Janeiro a hospital called " De la 
Misericordia." Its wards were low, its entries were con- 
fined and close, its staircases steep and narrow. According 
to the accounts of physicians who were medical students 
there in those days, its internal organization was as sordid 
as its general aspect. The floors were wet "and dirty, the 
beds wretched, the linen soiled ; and the absence of a system 
of ventilation made itself the more felt on account of the 
want of general cleanliness. The corpses awaited burial in 
a room where the rats held high festival ; and a physician, 
who has since occupied a distinguished position in Rio de Ja- 
neiro, told us that when, as a student, he went to seek there 
the materials for his anatomical studies, he often found life 
stirring in this chamber of the dead, and startled away these 
unseemly visitors. Such, in brief, was the Misericordia Hos- 
pital at the time when Brazil secured her independence. 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF EIO DE JANEIRO. 469 

Let us see what it is now. On the same spot, though occu- 
pying a much larger space, stands the present hospital. 
When completed, it will consist of three parallel buildings, 
long in proportion to their breadth, connected by cross cor- 
ridors enclosing courts between them. The central edifice, 
intended for male patients, has been long in use. The front 
building, looking on the bay, is nearly completed, and is to 
be devoted to the stores, to accommodations for hospital 
physicians, nurses, &c. The rear building, not yet begun, 
will be for the use of women and children, who now occupy 
the old hospital. Let us look first at the central division. 
We enter a spacious hall tiled with marble. A smaller 
hall, leading out of it, connects with one or two reception- 
rooms, where visitors are received, and medicines given 
out gratis to poor applicants. A broad staircase of dark 
wood brings us to the wide corridors, on which the wards 
open, and which look out upon green gardens enclosed 
between the buildings, where convalescents may be seen 
strolling about, or resting in the shade. At the first 
ward we are received by a Sister of Charity, who, in the 
absence of the Superior, is to show us the establishment. 
A description of one ward will answer for all, since they 
are identical. It is a long, lofty room, the beds in rows 
on either side, facing outward, and having a broad, open 
space down the centre. The beds are arranged two and 
two in pairs, each pair being divided by a door or win- 
dow. Between every two beds is a little niche in the 
wall, with a shelf to draw out underneath. In the niche 
are one or two pitchers or goblets holding the patient's 
drink ; on {lie shelf is his mug, ready to his hand. To a 
height of some six or eight feet the wall is wainscoted with 
blue-and-white porcelain tiles. They are easily washed, do 



470 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 

not contract dampness, and look very cool and fresh. The 
floor is made of the dark Brazilian wood, partly inlaid, and 
waxed carefully ; not a stain is to be seen anywhere on its 
shining surface. The bedding consists of a well-stuffed 
straw-mattress below, with a thick hair-mattress above. 
The sheets and pillow-cases are spotless. Indeed, every- 
thing in this fresh, well-aired, spacious room bespeaks an 
exquisite order and neatness. The bath-rooms are in con- 
venient relation to the wards, furnished with large marble 
bath-tubs, and with hot and cold water in abundance. 
From the public wards we pass into large corridors, upon 
which open private apartments for the use of persons who, 
not having convenient arrangements at home, or being 
strangers in the city, prefer, in case of illness, to go to the 
hospital. The rent of these chambers is exceedingly mod- 
erate ; — -for a room to one's self, $1.50 a day; for a room 
shared with one other person, $ 1 a day ; for a bed in a 
larger room occupied by half a dozen, but withdrawn from 
the general throng, 75 cents. These charges include medi- 
cal attendance, nursing, and food. From the wards de- 
voted to ordinary diseases, fevers and Jhe like, we went to 
the surgical wards. It need not be said that here the same 
neatness and care prevailed ; the operating rooms, the sur- 
gery lined with cases containing instruments, lint, bandages, 
&c. were all in faultless order. 

From this building — looking, as we went, into the kitchen, 
where the contents of the great shiny copper kettles smelt 
very invitingly — we passed through a paved court to the 
old hospital, in which are the wards for women and chil- 
dren. This gave us an opportunity of comparing, at least 
in its general arrangement, the ancient establishment with 
the modern one. The neatness and order prevailing through- 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF EIO DE JANEIRO. 



471 



out make even this part of the hospital attractive and cheer- 
ful ; but one feels at once the difference between the high, 
airy rooms and open corridors of the new building and 
the more confined quarters of the old one. In both parts 
of the hospital the mingling of color impresses the stranger. 
Blacks and whites lie side by side, and the proportion of 
negroes is considerable, both among the men and women. 

The charity of the Misericordia is a very comprehen- 
sive one ; it includes not only maladies susceptible of 
cure, but has also its ward for old and infirm persons, 
who will never leave it except for their last home. The day 
before our visit a very aged woman had been buried thence, 
who had lived under this roof for seventeen years. There 
is also a provision for children whose parents die in the 
hospital, and who have no natural protector. They remain 
there, receive an elementary education, being taught to 
read, write, and cipher ; and are not turned into the world 
until they are of age to marry or to enter into service. 
There is a chapel connected with the hospital, and many of 
the wards are furnished with an altar at one end, above 
which is placed a statue of the Virgin, a crucifix, or a pic- 
ture of some saint. I could not help asking myself if regu- 
lar religious services would not be a wise addition to all 
charitable institutions of this kind, whether Protestant or 
Catholic. To the respectable poor, their church is a great 
deal. Many a convalescent would be glad to hear the 
Sunday hymn, to join in the prayer put up for his re- 
covery ; and would think himself the better, body and 
soul, because he had listened to a sermon. To be sure, 
in our country, where creeds are so various, and almost 
every patient might have his own doctrinal speciality, there 
might be some difficulties which do not exist where there 



472 



A JOURNEY W BRAZIL. 



is a state religion, and one form of service is sure to 
suit all. Still, many would be comforted and consoled, and 
would come without asking whether the clergyman were 
of this or that denomination, if they felt him to be genuine 
and truly devout. 

I have presented the old hospital and the present one in 
direct contrast, because the comparison gives a measure of 
the progress which, in some directions at least, has taken 
place during the last thirty or forty years in Rio de Janeiro. 
It is true, that all their institutions have not advanced in 
proportion to their benevolent establishments ; charity, like 
hospitality, may be said to be a national virtue among 
the Brazilians. They hold almsgiving a religious duty, 
and are more liberal to their churches and to the public 
charities connected with them than to their institutions 
of learning. Unhappily, a great deal of their liberality 
of this kind is expended upon church festas, street pro- 
cessions, saint days, and the like, -more calculated to feed 
superstition than to stimulate pure religious sentiment. 

We should not leave the Misericordia without some allu- 
sion to the man to whom it chiefly owes its present character. 
Jose Clemente Pereira would have been gratefully remem- 
bered by the Brazilians as a statesman of distinguished 
merit, who was intimately associated with more than one of 
the most important events in their history, even had he no 
other claim on their esteem. He was born in Portugal, 
and distinguished himself as a young man in the Penin- 
sular war. Though he was already twenty-eight years of 
age when he left Europe, he seems to have been as true 
a lover of Brazil as if born on her soil. His merit was 
soon recognized in his adopted country, and he occupied, 
at different times, some of the highest offices of the 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF EIO DE JANEIRO. 478 

realm. The early part of his political career fell upon the 
stormy times when Brazil was struggling for her national 
existence as an independent Empire ; but during the more 
tranquil close of his life he seems to have been chiefly 
occupied in works of benevolence, in founding charitable 
institutions, and even in personal attendance upon the sick 
and suffering. 

The name of this benevolent Brazilian is associated not 
only with the Misericordia hospital, but also with the ad- 
mirable asylum for the insane at Botafogo, which bears 
the name of the present Emperor. A great part of the 
funds for this establishment were obtained in an original 
way, which shows that Pereira knew how to turn the 
weaknesses of his countrymen to good account. The 
Brazilians are addicted to titles, and the government of- 
fered distinctions of this kind to wealthy citizens who 
would endow the insane asylum. They were to be either 
commendadores or barons, the importance of the title being 
in proportion to the magnitude of their donations. Large 
sums were actually obtained in this way, and several of 
the titled men of Rio thus purchased their patents of 
nobility. When I first arrived in Rio de Janeiro, mere 
change led me to visit this asylum. Entering as a stran- 
ger, I saw only the outer rooms, listened to the evening 
service in the chapel for a few moments, and was struck 
with the order and quiet which seemed to prevail. It 
certainly never would have occurred to me that I was 
in an insane hospital. To-day Mr. Agassiz and myself, 
accompanied by our friend Dr. Pacheco da Silva, passed 
several hours there, and saw the whole establishment in 
detail. The building faces upon Botafogo Bay, having the 
beach immediately before it ; on its right the picturesque 



474 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



gap, one side of which is made by the Pao de Assucar, and 
on its left the beautiful valley running up toward Corco 
vado. Thus, looking on the sea and surrounded by moun- 
tains, it commands exquisite views on every side. The 
plan of the building, in its general arrangement, is not 
unlike that of the Misericordia. It is a handsome solid 
stone structure, rather long in proportion to its height, 
and consists of two parallel buildings, connected by cross 
corridors. These corridors enclose courts, planted with 
trees and flowers, and making very pleasant gardens. The 
entrance hall is in the centre, and has on either side the 
statues of Pinel and Esquirol, the two French masters in 
the treatment of mental diseases. The statues have no 
merit as works of art ; but it was pleasant to see them 
there, as showing a recognition of what these men have 
done for science and for humanity. A broad, low stair- 
case of dark wood leads up to the chapel. Here we 
looked with interest at the ornaments on the altar, because 
they are the work of the patients, who take great pleasure 
in making artificial flowers and other decorations for the 
church. On the same floor with the chapel is a large hall, 
where stands the statue of the youthful Emperor Dom Pedro 
Segundo. Opposite to it is that of Pereira. It is worthy 
of note that this statue was presented by the Emperor, 
and at his request placed opposite his own. The face, 
quite in keeping with the history of the man, is expressive 
both of great benevolence and remarkable decision. Con- 
nected with this hall are several reception-halls, parlors, 
and antechambers ; indeed, too much room is assigned 
to mere state apartments in an establishment where 
space must be precious. One of this suite of rooms was 
devoted to the various fancy-work made by the patients, 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 475 



— embroidery of all sorts, artificial flowers and the like. 
Thence we passed to the wards. As in the Misericordia, 
the rooms are very large and high, wainscoted with tiles, 
and opening upon wide corridors, which look out into the 
enclosed gardens. Some of the dormitories have fifteen 
or twenty beds, but many of the sleeping-rooms are 
smaller, it being better, no doubt, to separate the patients 
at night. We saw but little indication of suffering or 
distress among them. There were one or two cases of 
religious melancholy, with the look of fixed, absorbed sad- 
ness characteristic of that form of insanity. We were 
met once or twice by the vacant stare, and heard the 
senseless chatter and laugh always to be found in these 
saddest of all asylums for human suffering. But, on the 
whole, an air of cheerfulness prevailed ; with few excep- 
tions all the patients were occupied, the women with plain 
sewing or embroidery, the men with carpentering, shoe- 
making, or tailoring, making cigars for the use of the 
establishment, or picking over old cordage. The Superior 
told us that occupation was found to be the most efficient 
remedy, and that though work was not compulsory, with 
few exceptions all the patients preferred to share in it. 
The whole service of the house — washing, sweeping, wax- 
ing the floors, cleaning the chambers and putting them in 
orders is performed by them. Sunday is found to be the 
most difficult day, because much of the ordinary occupation 
is suspended, and the patients become unruly in proportion 
- as they are unemployed. From these apartments, where all 
were busy and comparatively quiet, we passed to a corridor 
enclosing a large court, where some of the lunatics, too rest- 
less for employment, were walking about, gesticulating and 
talking loudly. The corridor was lined on its inner side with 



476 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



chambers devoted to the use of those whose violence made it 
necessary to confine them. The doors and windows were 
grated, the rooms empty of furniture, but well lighted, spa- 
cious, and airy ; not at all like cells, except in being so 
strongly secured. They were mostly without occupants ; but 
as we passed one of them a man rushed to the door, and 
called out to us that he was not a prisoner because he 
was mad, but that he had killed Lopez, and was now 
the rightful Emperor of Brazil. This corridor led us to 
the bath-rooms, which are really on a magnificent scale. 
A number of immense marble tubs are sunk in the tiled 
floors. They are of different depths, adapted for standing, 
sitting, or lying down, and have every variety of arrange- 
ment for douche, shower, or sponge baths. 

This hospital, like the Misericordia, is under the care of 
the Sisters of Charity, and is a model of neatness and order. 
The Superior has a face remarkable for its serenity, expres- 
sive at once of sweetness and good sense. From her we 
learned some interesting facts respecting insanity in this 
country. She says furious maniacs are rare, and that vio- 
lence generally yields readily to treatment. She also told 
us that insanity is more common among the poor than 
among the better classes. Though the asylum contains 
apartments for private patients, there are seldom more than 
eight or ten persons of this description to occupy them. 
This is not because they have any choice of establishments, 
for there is no other insane hospital in Rio de Janeiro, though 
there are one or two " Maisons de Sante " where insane per- 
sons are received. There were more blacks among the 
patients than we had expected to see, the general impres- 
sion being that insanity is rare among the negroes. We left 
this hospital impressed by its superiority. A country which 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 477 



lias so high a standard of excellence in its charities can 
hardly fail, sooner or later, to bring its institutions of learn- 
ing and its public works generally up to the same level. 
Excellence in one department leads to excellence in all. 

From the hospital we continued our walk to the military 
school, some quarter of a mile farther. It stands in the gap 
between the Pao de Assucar and the opposite range of hills, 
and has the Botafogo Bay on one side, the Praia Yermelha 
on the other. Here, as elsewhere in the public schools of 
Rio de Janeiro, there is a progressive movement ; but old 
and theoretical methods still prevail to a great degree. 
The maps are poor ; there are no bas-reliefs, no large globes, 
few dissections or chemical analyses, no philosophical ex- 
periments, and no library deserving the name. The school, 
however, has been in efficient operation only six years, and 
improvements in the building, as well as in the apparatus 
for instruction, are made daily. So far as its domestic 
economy is concerned, the appointments of the establish- 
ment are excellent ; indeed, one is rather inclined to criti- 
cise it as over-luxurious for boys educated to be soldiers. 
The school-rooms and dormitories, as well as the dining- 
room, where the tables were laid with a nice service of 
crockery and glass, and also the kitchens, were clean and 
orderly. We cannot but wonder that the streets of Rio 
de Janeiro should be dirtier and more offensive than 
those of any other city we have visited, when we see 
the scrupulous neatness characteristic of all its public 
establishments. The observance of cleanliness in this re- 
spect shows that the Brazilians recognize its importance, 
and it seems strange that they should tolerate nuisances 
in their streets which make it almost impossible to pass 
through many of them on foot. 



478 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



June 7th. — Yesterday we visited the Mint, the Academy 
of Fine Arts, and a primary school for girls. Of the Mint it 
is scarcely fair to judge in its present condition ; a new 
building is nearly completed, and all improvements in 
machinery are wisely deferred until the establishment is 
removed. When this change takes place, much that is 
antiquated will be improved, and its many deficiencies 
supplied. 

There is little knowledge of, or interest in, art in Brazil. 
Pictures are as rare as books in a Brazilian house ; and 
though Bio de Janeiro has an Academy of Fine Arts, in- 
cluding a school of design and sculpture, it is still in too ele- 
mentary a condition to warrant criticism. The only inter- 
esting picture in the collection derives its attraction wholly 
from the circumstances connected with it, not at all from 
any merit in the execution. It is a likeness of a negro who, 
in a shipwreck off the coast, saved a number of lives at the 
risk of his own. When he had brought several passengers 
to the shore, he was told that two children remained in the 
ship. He swam back once more and brought them safely 
to the beach, but sank down himself exhausted, and was 
seized with hemorrhage. A considerable sum was raised 
for him in the city of Rio, and his picture was placed in 
the Academy to commemorate his heroism. 

Of the public school for girls not much can be said. 
The education of women is little regarded in Brazil, and the 
standard of instruction for girls in the public schools is low. 
Even in the private schools, where the children of the better 
class are sent, it is the complaint of all teachers that they 
are taken away from school just at the time when their 
minds begin to develop. The majority of girls in Brazil 
who go to school at all are sent at about seven or eight 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF EIO DE JANEIRO. 



479 



years of age, and are considered to have finished their edu- 
cation at thirteen or fourteen. The next step in their life is 
marriage. Of course there are exceptions ; some parents 
wisely leave their children at school, or direct their in- 
struction at home, till they are seventeen or eighteen years 
of age, and others send their girls abroad. But usually, 
with the exception of one or two accomplishments, such 
as French or music, the education of women is neglected, 
and this neglect affects the whole tone of society. It does 
not change the general truth of this statement, that there 
are Brazilian ladies who would be recognized in the best 
society as women of the highest intelligence and culture. 
But they are the exceptions, as they inevitably must be 
under the present system of instruction, and they feel its 
influence upon their social position only the more bitterly. 

Indeed, many of the women I have known most intimate- 
ly here have spoken to me with deep regret of their limited, 
imprisoned existence. There is not a Brazilian senhora, 
who has ever thought about the subject at all, who is not 
aware that her life is one of repression and constraint. She 
cannot go out of her house, except under certain conditions, 
without awakening scandal. Her education leaves her 
wholly ignorant of the most common topics of a wider inter- 
est, though perhaps with a tolerable knowledge of French 
and music. The world of books is closed to her ; for there 
is little Portuguese literature into which she is allowed to 
look, and that of other languages is still less at her com- 
mand. She knows little of the history of her own country, 
almost nothing of that of others, and she is hardly aware 
that there is any religious faith except the uniform one 
of Brazil ; she has probably never heard of the Reforma- 
tion, nor does she dream that there is a sea of thought 



480 



A JOURNEY m BRAZIL. 



surging in the world outside, constantly developing new 
phases of national and individual life ; indeed, of all but 
her own narrow domestic existence she is profoundly igno- 
rant. 

On one occasion, when staying at a fazenda, I took up a 
volume which was lying on the piano. A book is such a 
rare sight, in the rooms occupied by the family, that I was 
curious to see its contents. As I stood turning over the 
leaves (it proved to be a romance), the master of the 
house came up, and remarked that the book was not suit- 
able reading for ladies, but that here (putting into my hand 
a small volume) was a work adapted to the use of women 
and children, which he had provided for the senhoras of 
his family. I opened it, and found it to be a sort of text- 
book of morals, filled with commonplace sentiments, copy- 
book phrases, written in a tone of condescending indul- 
gence for the feminine intellect. Women being, after all, 
the mothers of men, and understood to have some little 
influence on their education, I could hardly wonder, after 
seeing this specimen of their intellectual food, that the wife 
and daughters of our host were not greatly addicted to 
reading. Nothing strikes a stranger more than the absence 
of books in Brazilian houses. If the father is a professional 
man, he has his small library of medicine or law, but books 
are never seen scattered about as if in common use ; they 
make no part of the daily life. I repeat, that there are ex- 
ceptions. I well remember finding in the sitting-room of a 
young girl, by whose family we had been most cordially re- 
ceived, a well-selected library of the best literary and his- 
torical works in German and French ; but this is the only 
instance of the kind we met with during our year in Brazil. 
Even when the Brazilian women have received the ordinary 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 481 



advantages of education, there is something in their home- 
life so restricted, so shut out from natural contact with ex- 
ternal influences, that this in itself tends to cripple their 
development. Their amusements are as meagre and scanty 
as their means of instruction. 

In writing these things I but echo the thought of many 
intelligent Brazilians, who lament a social evil which they 
do not well know how to reform. If among our Brazilian 
friends there are some who,, familiar with the more pro- 
gressive aspect of life in Rio de Janeiro, question the 
accuracy of my statements, I can only say that they do 
not know the condition of society in the northern cities 
and provinces. Among my own sex, I have never seen 
such sad lives as became known to me there, — lives de- 
prived of healthy, invigorating happiness, and intolerably 
monotonous, — a negative suffering, having its source, it is 
true, in the absence of enjoyment rather than in the pres- 
ence of positive evils, but all the more to be deplored be- 
cause so stagnant and inactive. 

Behind all defects in methods of instruction, there lies a 
fault of domestic education, to be lamented throughout 
Brazil. This is the constant association with black ser- 
vants, and, worse still, with negro children, of whom there 
are usually a number in every house. Whether the low 
and vicious habits of the negroes are the result of slavery 
or not, they cannot be denied ; and it is singular to see 
persons, otherwise careful and conscientious about their 
children, allowing them to live in the constant companion- 
ship of their blacks, waited upon by the older ones, play- 
ing all day with the younger ones. It shows how blind we 
may become, by custom, to the most palpable dangers. A 
stranger observes at once the evil results of this contact 

21 EE 



482 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



with vulgarity and vice, though often unnoticed by the 
parents. In the capital, some of these evils are fast disap- 
pearing ; indeed, those who remember Rio de Janeiro forty 
years ago have witnessed, during that short period, a re- 
markable change for the better in the state of society. Nor 
should it be forgotten that the highest authority in the 
community is exerted in the cause of a liberal culture for 
women. It is well known that the education of the Impe- 
rial princesses has been not only superintended, but in a 
great measure personally conducted, by their father. 

July 8th. — I was prevented yesterday from going to the 
Blind Asylum with Mr. Agassiz, but I transcribe his notes 
upon this, as well as upon the Marine Arsenal, which he 
also visited without me. 

" The building is old and in a ruinous condition. I was 
not allowed to go over it, everything being brought to the 
reception-room for my inspection, though I told the director 
that I did not care about the external arrangements, but 
simply wished to know by what means the privations of the 
blind were alleviated in his establishment. The same pro- 
cesses of routine prevail here as in other schools and col- 
leges I have seen in Rio. This, however, is not peculiar to 
Portuguese or Brazilian habits of instruction. The old 
habit of overrating memory, and neglecting the more active 
and productive faculties of the mind, still prevails more or 
less in education everywhere. I learned little of the gen- 
eral system pursued. The teachers were more anxious to 
show off the ability of special pupils in reading, writing 
from dictation, and music, than to explain their methods 
of instruction. Vocal and instrumental music seemed the 
favorite occupation ; but though it is very pathetic to hear 
the blind deplore their misfortune and express their craving 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF EIO DE JANEIRO. 483 



for light in harmonious sounds, it does not, after all, give 
much information as to the way in which their calamity is 
relieved. I should add, that their musical performance is 
excellent, and does great credit to their German professor. 
It struck me that very little use was made of object-teach- 
ing, such as is so much in vogue for children in Germany. 
There are not as many models in the whole establishment 
as would be found in any nursery in certain parts of Ger- 
many. The maps also are very poor. 

" One of the most interesting of the public establishments 
at Rio de Janeiro is the Marine Arsenal. From the Gulf 
of Mexico to Cape Horn there is not to be found on the 
Atlantic coast another port where a vessel of war, or even a 
merchant vessel of large tonnage, could undergo important 
repairs. The machine-shops and saw-mills are well directed, 
and are deficient in none of the improvements belonging to 
modern establishments of the kind. The dock is large and 
constructed of granite. A considerable number of large 
vessels have been built at this shipyard during the last 
few years, and all its appointments have been constantly 
improving under the direction of several successive minis- 
ters of the navy. Such an establishment is, in fact, a 
necessity for Brazil ; possessing as she does eleven hun- 
dred leagues of coast, it is impossible for her to depend 
upon other countries for her maritime supplies. The 
Marine Arsenal sends out from its school and shipyard 
many able engineers and clever artisans, who carry into 
ordinary branches of industry the ability they have ac- 
quired in the public service. Indeed, this establishment 
may be considered as a sort of school of industrial arts, 
furnishing the country with good workmen in various de- 
partments of labor. " 



484 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



This week Mr. Agassiz has concluded another course of 
six lectures given at the College of Dom Pedro II. ; the 
subject, " The Formation of the Amazonian Valley, and its 
Productions." It is worthy of remark, that the appearance 
of ladies on such occasions no longer excites comment. 
There were many more senhoras among the listeners 
than at the previous lectures, when their presence was 
a novelty. A Brazilian audience is very sympathetic ; in 
this they resemble a European assembly more than our own 
quiet, undemonstrative crowds. There is always a little 
stir, a responsive thrill, when anything pleases them, and 
often a spoken word of commendation or criticism. 

June 10th. — Theresopolis. Yesterday, accompanied by 
Mr. Glaziou, Director of the Passeio Publico, and Dr. 
Nageli, we started on an excursion to the Organ Mountains, 
leaving Rio in the boat for Piedade, and stopping on our 
way at the little island of Paqueta. This is one of the 
prettiest islands of the harbor, abounding in palms, popu- 
lous with pleasant country-houses, and having a very pic- 
turesque shore, broken into bays and inlets. We reached 
the little cluster of houses called Piedade about five o'clock, 
and took the omnibus to the foot of the serra. The hours 
of public conveyance on this road seem ingeniously ar- 
ranged to prevent the traveller from seeing its beauties. 
The greater part of the four hours' drive is made after 
nightfall ; and the return offers no compensation, the second 
journey taking place before daybreak. We passed the night 
at the foot of the serra, and started at seven o'clock the 
next morning to walk up the mountain. It is impossible to 
describe the beauty of this walk, especially on such a day as 
we were favored with, varying between sunshine and shade, 
and with a fresh breeze which saved us any discomfort from 



ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 



485 



the heat. The road winds gently up the serra, turning 
sometimes with so sharp an angle that below we could 
see all the ground we had travelled over. On one hand is 
the mountain-side, clothed with a vegetation of surpassing 
beauty, bright with crimson parasites, with the rich pur- 
ple flowers of the Quaresma and the delicate blue blossoms 
of the Utricularia, as fragile and as graceful as the harebell. 
On the other hand, we looked down sometimes into narrow 
gorges, clothed with magnificent forest, from which huge 
masses of rock projected here and there ; sometimes into 
wider valleys opening out into the plain below, and giving 
a distant view of the harbor and its archipelago of islands 
surrounded by mountains, the whole scene glittering in the 
sunshine, or veiled by shadows, as the fitful day showed it 
to us. 

The ascent may be easily accomplished on foot in three or 
four hours. We had nothing to urge us forward, however, 
except a growing desire for breakfast, appeased every now 
and then by an orange, of which we had a good supply in 
the tin case for plants, and many a slow train of laden mules 
passed us in their upward march, and left us far behind as we 
loitered along, though not lazily. On the contrary, Mr. Agas- 
siz and his friends found plenty of occupation in botanizing 
and geologizing. They stopped constantly to gather para- 
sites, to study ferns and mosses, to break boulders, to collect 
insects and the little land-shells found here and there along 
the road. We saw one most beautiful insect, hardly larger 
than a lady-bug, but of the most exquisite colors and gleam- 
ing like a jewel on the leaf where it had alighted. In 
breaking the stones along the roadside Mr. Agassiz found 
many evidences of erratics, several of them being Diorite, 
entirely distinct from the rock in place. The surfaces of 



486 



A JOUKNEY IN BRAZIL. 



the boulders were universally decomposed and covered with 
a uniform crust, so that it was necessary to split them in 
order to ascertain their true nature. From distance to 
distance along the road were immense fragments of rock, 
sometimes twenty or thirty feet in height. These huge 




Garrafao, among the Organ Mountains. 



masses were frequently seen hanging on the brink of steep 
declivities, as if, having broken off from the heights above, 
and rolled down, they had been prevented from advancing 
farther by some obstacle, and had become gradually em- 



ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 



487 



bedded in the soil. Many of these boulders were clothed 
in soft, thick reindeer moss, so like the reindeer moss of the 
Arctics that, if specifically distinct, the difference could not 
be detected except by the most careful examination. It 
suggests the question whether there are any representatives 
of the tropical flora among the lichens and pines of the 
high north. As we advanced, the character of the vegeta- 
tion changed considerably, and we began to feel, by the in- 
creasing freshness of the air, that we were getting into 
higher regions. The near view became more beautiful as 
we approached the heart of the mountains, coming under 
the shadow of their strange peaks, which looked sharp and 
attenuated from a distance, but changed into wonderful 
masses of bare rock, very grand in their effect, as we drew 
closer to them. We reached the hotel at Theresopolis at 
about two o'clock. After our long walk, the answer we 
received to our inquiry about breakfast at the little grocery 
adjoining the inn was rather discouraging. What could 
they give us on short notice ? " Only four eggs and some 
sausage." However, the master of the hotel made his ap- 
pearance, opened his house, where, to judge from its closed 
doors and windows, the advent of guests is rare, and com- 
forted us with the information that breakfast " pode se ar- 
ranjar." Indeed, from the dish of eggs which made its 
appearance soon afterwards, we might have supposed that 
all the hens in the village had been called upon to contrib- 
ute, and we enjoyed a breakfast for which mountain air 
and exercise had supplied the best sauce. 

The village of Theresopolis is very prettily situated, lying 
in a dip between the mountains and commanding a mag- 
nificent view of the peaks, one of which stands out like a 
tall, narrow tower against the sky. Near it is another sharp 



488 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



summit, on the extreme point of which a large boulder is 
placed. It looks as if a touch would dislodge it ; and yet 
for how many a long year has it held its place there through 
storm and sunshine ! We looked up at this huge fragment 
of rock on its dizzy height, and wondered whether it was 
erratic, or simply an effect of decomposition on the spot, — 
a point impossible of decision at that distance. If the lat- 
ter, it seems strange that the weather should have worn 
and excavated such a mass underneath, without destroying 
its upper surface, thus detaching it from the mountain, till 
it stands, as now, in bold relief, only supported by a single 
point of attachment on the extreme summit. We spent the 
rest of the day in a walk to a very pretty cascade which 
comes rushing down through the wood a mile or two from 
the village. 

June Wth. — We left the inn at half past seven this morn- 
ing, to pass the day again in rambling. Following the main 
road for a quarter of a mile or so beyond the village, we 
presently turned to the left into a narrow, shady pathway. 
It led us through the woods to the edge of a deep basin 
sunk between the mountains, on the slopes of which were 
strewn many immense boulders. A curious feature of the 
Organ Mountains which we have observed repeatedly even 
in this short excursion is, that between their strangely 
fantastic forms the country sinks down into well-defined 
basins, which usually have no outlet. Following the brink 
of such a basin for a couple of miles, and crossing an in- 
tervening ridge, we came out upon a kind of plateau over- 
hanging another depression of the same character, and com- 
manding a magnificent view of the chain, in the very centre 
of which it seems to be, for the mountains rise tier upon 
tier around it on every side. On this plateau stands the 



OKGAN MOUNTAINS. 



489 



fazenda called St. Louis, belonging to Mr. d'Escragnolle. 
The exquisite beauty of the site and the hospitality of its 
owner have made this fazenda a favorite resort for travel- 
lers. The grounds are laid out with much taste, and Mr. 
d'Escragnolle's success in raising many of the European 
fruits and vegetables, as well as those of his own country, 
makes it the more to be regretted that this beautiful region 
should be so little cultivated. Pears, peaches, strawberries, 
thrive admirably, as also do green peas, asparagus, arti- 
chokes, and cauliflowers. The climate strikes a happy 
medium between the heat in the neighborhood of Rio de 
Janeiro, which brings these products to too rapid a de- 
velopment, drying them up before they have time to 
mature, and the sharp cold of higher mountain regions. 
But though at so short a distance from the capital, the 
transport is so difficult and expensive that Mr. d'Escrag- 
nolle, instead of sending the produce of his farm to the 
city market, as he would gladly do, feeds his pigs with 
cauliflowers. We passed the rest of the day most delight- 
fully in this charming country place. Mr. Agassiz and 
Mr. Glaziou ascended one of the near mountain summits, 
but did not gain so extensive a view as they had hoped, on 
account of an intervening spur. They were able to distin- 
guish three parallel ridges, however, separated by interven- 
ing depressions. Toward evening, while the mountains were 
still bright with the purple glory of the sunset, though 
shadows were settling over the valleys, we started on our re- 
turn, bidding good by with great regret to our kind host, 
who warmly pressed us to stay. The path we had followed 
in the morning, without giving a thought to its irregular- 
ities, seemed quite broken and difficult by night. The 
slopes along which it ran were changed, in the dim light, to 



490 



A JOUENEY IN BEAZIL. 



sudden precipices, and we picked our steps with care be- 
tween rocks and over fallen logs and rivulets. It was bright 
starlight as we came out of the woods upon the high road. 
The village lay below, its lights twinkling cheerily, and the 
peaks and towers behind it drawn with strange distinctness 
against the night sky. 




Organ Mountains. 



June 12th.— Barreira. This morning at seven o'clock 
we were on our way down the serra. Mr. Agassiz deplores 
the necessity which obliges him to leave this region after so 
short an examination of its striking features. A naturalist 
might pass months here, and find every day rich in results. 
As we left the hotel the sun was just gilding the highest 
summits, while white clouds rose softly from the valleys, 
and, floating upward, broke into fleecy fragments against 
the mountain-sides. Having the day before us, we de- 



ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 



491 



scended as slowly as we had mounted the serra, stopping 
almost at every step to gather plants, to examine rocks, to 
wonder at the strange position of the immense boulders 
hanging often just on the brow of some steep declivity. 
I wandered on beyond the others and sat down to wait for 
them on the low stone wall, forming a parapet on the edge 
of the road. Directly before me rose the bare, rocky sur- 
face of one of the great peaks ; a vapory white cloud hung 
midway upon it ; shadows floated over it. On the other 
side I looked down upon wooded valleys and mountains in 
strange confusion, while far below, stretching out to the sea, 
lay the billowy plain tossed into endless soft green waves. 
The stillness made the scene more impressive, the silence 
being only occasionally broken by the click of hoofs, as a 
train of mules came cautiously down the flagged road. 
While I sat there a liteira passed me slung between mules ; 
a mode of travelling fast disappearing with the improve- 
ments of the roads, but still in use for women and children 
in certain parts of the country. We stopped to breakfast at 
a little venda about half-way down the serra ; here the boul- 
ders are most remarkable from their great size and singular 
position. We reached the inn at the bottom of the serra 
between two and three o'clock, and are now sitting in the 
little piazza, while a drenching rain, which fortunately did 
not begin till we were under shelter, swells the stream near 
by, and is fast changing it to a rapid torrent. I will add 
here such observations respecting the geological structure 
of this mountain range as Mr. Agassiz has been able to 
make in our short excursion. 

" The chain is formed by the sharp folding up of strata, 
sometimes quite vertically, in other instances with a slope 
more or less steep, but always'rather sudden. To one stand- 



492 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



ing on the hill to the east of Thcresopolis, the whole range 
presents itself in a perfect profile ; the axis, on either side 
of which dip the almost vertical beds of metamorphic rocks 
composing the chain, occupies about the centre of the range. 
To the north, though very steeply inclined, the beds are not 
so vertical as in the southern prolongation of the range. 
The consequence of this difference is the formation of more 
massive and less disconnected summits on the north side ; 
while on the south side, where the strata are nearly or 
quite vertical, the harder sets of beds alone have remained 
standing, the softer intervening beds having been gradually 
disintegrated. By this process have been formed those 
strange peaks which appear from a distance like a row 
of organ-pipes, and have suggested the name by which the 
chain is known. They consist of vertical beds isolated 
from the general mass in consequence of the disappearance 
of contiguous strata. The aspect of these mountains from 
Rio is much the same as from Theresopolis, only that from 
the two points of view — one being to the northeast, the 
other to the southwest of the range — their summits pre- 
sent themselves in the reverse order. When seen in com- 
plete profile their slender appearance is most striking. 
Viewed from the side, the broad surfaces of the strata, 
though equally steep, exhibit a triangular form rather than 
that of vei'tical columns. It is strange that the height of 
the Organ Mountain peaks, so conspicuous a feature in 
the landscape of Rio de Janeiro, should not have been ac- 
curately measured. The only precise indication I have 
been able to find is recorded by Liais, who gives 7,000 feet 
as the maximum height observed by him. 

" These abrupt peaks frequently surround closed basins, 
very symmetrical in shape, but without any outlet. On 



ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 



493 



account of this singular formation, the glacial phenomena 
which abound in the Organ Mountains are of a peculiar 
character. At first, I was at a loss to explain how loose 
masses of rock, descending from the heights above, should 
be caught on the edges of these basins, instead of rolling 
to the bottom. But their position becomes quite natural 
when we remember that the ice must have remained in 
these depressions long after it had disappeared, or nearly 
disappeared, from the slopes above. Hindered from ad- 
vancing, these huge masses of rock have become gradually 
embedded in the soil, and are now solidly fixed in positions 
which would be perfectly inexplicable, unless we suppose 
the basin to have been formerly filled with something which 
offered an obstacle to their farther descent. Moraines also 
abut upon these depressions, coming to an abrupt close 
upon their margin. Morainic soil — that is, masses of drift 
with all sorts of loose materials buried- in it — abounds 
everywhere in this region ; but, on the whole, the glacial 
phenomena are difficult to study, because the heavy growth 
of forest has covered all inequalities of the soil, and, except 
where sections have been made or ground has been cleared, 
the outlines are lost." 

This was our final excursion in Brazil. The next morn 
ing we returned to the city ; and the few remaining days 
were spent in preparations for departure, and in bidding 
farewell to the friends who had made Rio de Janeiro almost 
like a home to us. Among the pleasant incidents of this 
last week, was a breakfast given by Mr. Ledgerwood, who 
was then conducting the business of the American legation 
in the temporary absence of our Minister, General Webb. 
This occasion, at which Mr. Agassiz was invited to meet 
several members of the Brazilian administration, gave him 



494 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



an opportunity of expressing his sense of their uniform 
kindness and consideration in furthering to the utmost the 
scientific objects which had brought him to Brazil. On the 
following day (the 2d of July), we sailed for the United 
States, carrying with us to our northern home a store of 
pleasant memories and vivid pictures to enrich our life 
hereafter with tropical warmth and color. 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



495 



CHAPTER XVI. 

GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 

Religion and Clergy. — Education. — Law, Medical, and Scientific 
Schools. — High and Common Schools. — Public Library and Museum 
in Rio de Janeiro. — Historical and Geographical Institute. — Social 
and Domestic Relations. — Public Functionaries. — Agricultuke. — 
Zones of Vegetation.— Coffee. — Cotton. — Timber and other Products 
of the Amazons. — Cattle. — Territorial Subdivision of the Great 
Valley. — Emigration. — Foreigners. — Paraguayan War. 

1 cannot close this book, written for the most part by 
another hand, without a few words as to my general impres- 
sions of Brazil. No one will expect from me an essay on 
the social and political aspects of the whole country, even 
had I remained there long enough to acquire the right 
of judgment on these matters. I am so unaccustomed to 
dealing with them that my opinions would be entitled to 
little weight. There is, however, another point of view, 
more general, but perhaps more comprehensive also, from 
which every intelligent man may form an estimate of the 
character of a people which, if sincere, will be in the main 
sound and just, without including an intimate knowledge 
of their institutions, or the practical working of their laws. 
My scientific life has brought me into relations with a world 
wholly unknown to me before ; under conditions more favor- 
able than were possible for my predecessors in the same 
region, I have studied this tropical nature, so rich, so 
grandiose, so instructive ; I have seen a great Empire 
founded in the midst of unlimited material resources, and 
advancing to higher civilization under the inspiration of a 



196 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



sovereign as enlightened as he is humane. I must have 
been blind to everything except my science, had I not a 
word to say of Brazil as a nation,- — of her present con- 
dition and her future prospects. 

There is much that is discouraging in the aspect of 
Brazil, even for those who hope and believe as I do, that 
she has before her an honorable and powerful career. 
There is much also that is very cheering, that leads me to 
believe that her life as a nation will not belie her great gifts 
as a country. Should her moral and intellectual endow- 
ments grow into harmony with her wonderful natural 
beauty and wealth, the world will not have seen a fairer 
land. At present there are several obstacles to this pro- 
gress ; obstacles which act like a moral disease upon the 
people. Slavery still exists among them. It is true that it 
is on the wane ; true that it has received a mortal blow ; 
but the natural death of slavery is a lingering illness, 
wasting and destroying the body it has attacked. Next 
to this I would name, among the influences unfavorable 
to progress, the character of the clergy. In saying this I 
disclaim any reference to the national religion. It is of the 
character of the clergy I speak, not of the church they rep- 
resent. Whatever be the church organization in a country 
where instruction is still so intimately linked with a state 
religion as it is in Brazil, it is of infinite importance that the 
clergy themselves should not only be men of high moral 
character, but of studious, thoughtful lives. They are the 
teachers of the people, and as long as they believe that the 
mind can be fed with tawdry street processions, with lighted 
candles, and cheap bouquets ; and as long as the people 
accept this kind of instruction, they will be debased and en- 
feebled by it. Shows of this kind are of almost daily occur- 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



497 



rence in all the large cities of Brazil. They interfere with 
the ordinary occupations, and make working days the ex- 
ception rather than the rule. It must be remembered that 
in Brazil there is no laborious, cultivated class of priests, 
such as have been an honor to ecclesiastical literature in 
the Old World ; there are no fine institutions of learning 
connected with the Church. As a general thing, the igno- 
rance of the clergy is universal, their immorality patent, 
their influence very extensive and deep-rooted. There are 
honorable exceptions, but they are not numerous enough to 
elevate the class to which they belong. But if their private 
life is open to blame, the Brazilian priests are distinguished 
for their patriotism. At all times they have occupied high 
public stations, serving in the Legislative Assembly, in the 
Senate, and even nearer to the throne ; yet their power has 
never been exerted in favor of Ultramontane tendencies. 
Independent religious thought seems, however, rare in 
Brazil. There may perhaps be scepticism ; but I think 
this is not likely to be extensively the case, for the Bra- 
zilians are instinctively a believing people, tending rather 
to superstition than to doubt. Oppression in matters of 
faith is contrary to the spirit of their institutions. Prot- 
estant clergymen are allowed to preach freely ; but, as a 
general thing, Protestantism does not attract the Southern 
nations, and it may be doubted whether its advocates 
will have a very wide-spread success. However this may 
be, every friend to Brazil must wish to see its present 
priesthood replaced by a more vigorous, intelligent, and 
laborious clergy. 

In order to form a just estimate of the present condition 
of education in Brazil, and its future prospects, we must 
not consider it altogether from our own stand-point. The 



498 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



truth is that all steady progress in Brazil dates from her 
declaration of independence, and that is a very recent fact 
in her history. Since she has passed from colonial to na- 
tional life her relations with other countries have enlarged, 
antiquated prejudices have been effaced, and with a more 
intense individual existence she has assumed also a more 
cosmopolitan breadth of ideas. But a political revolution 
is more rapidly accomplished than the remoulding of the 
nation which is its result, — its consequence rather than 
its accompaniment. Even now, after half a century of in- 
dependent existence, intellectual progress in Brazil is man- 
ifested rather as a tendency, a desire, so to speak, giving 
a progressive movement to society, than as a positive fact. 
The intellectual life of a nation when fully developed has 
its material existence in large and various institutions 
of learning, scattered throughout the country. Except in 
a very limited and local sense, this is not yet the case in 
Brazil. 

I did not visit San Paolo, and I cannot therefore speak 
from personal . observation of the Faculty which stands 
highest in general estimation ; I can, however, testify to 
the sound learning and liberal culture of many of its 
graduates whom it has been my good fortune to know, 
and whose characters as gentlemen and as students bear 
testimony to the superior instruction they have received at 
the hands of their Alma Mater. I was told that the best 
schools, after those of San Paolo, were those of Bahia and 
Pernambuco. I did not visit them, as my time was too 
short ; but I should think that the presence of the profes- 
sional faculties established in both these cities would tend 
to raise the character of the lower grades of education. 
The regular faculties embrace only medical and legal 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



499 



studies. The instruction in both is thorough, though per- 
haps limited ; at least I felt that, in the former, in which 
my own studies have prepared me to judge, those acces- 
sory branches which, after all, lie at the foundation of a 
superior medical education, are either wanting or are 
taught very imperfectly. Neither zoology, comparative 
anatomy, botany, physics, nor chemistry is allowed suf- 
ficient weight in the medical schools. The education is 
one rather of books than of facts. Indeed, as long as the 
prejudice against manual labor of all kinds exists in Brazil, 
practical instruction will be deficient ; as long as students 
of nature think it unbecoming a gentleman to handle his 
own specimens, to carry his own geological hammer, to 
make his own scientific preparations, he will remain a mere 
dilettante in investigation. He may be very familiar with 
recorded facts, but he will make no original researches. On 
this account, and on account of their personal indolence, 
field studies are foreign to Brazilian habits. Surrounded as 
they are by a nature rich beyond comparison, their natural- 
ists are theoretical rather than practical. They know more 
of the bibliography of foreign science than of the wonder- 
ful fauna and flora with which they are surrounded. 

Of the schools and colleges in Rio de Janeiro I have more 
right to judge than of those above mentioned. Several of 
them are excellent. The Ecole Centrale deserves a special 
notice. It corresponds to what we call a scientific school, 
and nowhere in Brazil have I seen an educational institu- 
tion where improved methods of teaching were so highly 
appreciated and so generally adopted. The courses of 
mathematics, chemistry, physics, and the natural sciences 
are comprehensive and thorough. And yet even in this 
institution I was struck with the scantiness of means for 



500 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



practical illustration and experiment ; its professors do not 
yet seem to understand that it is impossible to teach any 
of the physical sciences wholly or mainly from text-books. 
The facilities granted to pupils in this school, and perhaps 
still more in the military school, are very great. The in- 
struction is entirely gratuitous, and in the military school 
the students are not only fed and clothed, etc. ; they are 
even paid for their attendance, being considered as belong- 
ing to the army from the time they enter the school. 

The Dom Pedro Segundo College is the best school of 
that class I have seen in Brazil. It may be compared to 
our New England high schools, and fully deserves the 
reputation it enjoys. 

Of the common schools I saw little. Of course, in a 
country where the population is sparsely scattered over 
very extensive districts, it must be difficult to gather the 
children in schools, outside of the large cities. Where such 
schools have been organized the instruction is gratuitous ; 
but competent teachers are few, the education very lim- 
ited, and the means of instruction scanty. Reading, writ- 
ing, and ciphering, with the least possible smattering of 
geography, form the groundwork of all these schools. The 
teachers labor under great difficulties, because they have 
not the strong support of the community. There is little 
general appreciation of the importance of education as the 
basis without which all higher civilization is impossible. 
I have, however, noticed throughout Brazil a disposition to 
give a practical education, a training in some trade, to the 
poor children. Establishments of this kind exist in almost 
all the larger cities. This is a good sign ; it shows that 
they attach a proper value to labor, at least for the lower 
classes, and aim at raising a working population. In these 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



501 



schools blacks and whites are, so to speak, industrially 
united. Indeed, there is no antipathy of race to be over- 
come in Brazil, either among the laboring people or in the 
higher walks of life. I was pleased to see pupils, without 
distinction of race or color, mingling in the exercises. 

It is surprising that, in a country so rich in mineral 
wealth, there should exist no special Mining School, and 
that everything connected with the working of the mines 
should be under the immediate supervision of the Minister 
of Public Works, without the assistance of a special office 
for the superintendence of mining operations. Nothing 
would more speedily increase the value of the mineral lands 
of the whole country than a regular geological survey, 
which has not yet been begun.* 

The Imperial Library at Rio de Janeiro should not be 
omitted from an enumeration of its educational establish- 
ments. It is very fairly supplied with books in all depart- 
ments of learning, and is conducted in a very liberal spirit, 
suffering no limitation from religious or political prejudice. 
In fact, tolerance and benevolence are common characteris- 
tics of the institutions of learning in Brazil. The Imperial 
Museum of Natural History in the Capital is antiquated ; 
to any one acquainted with Museums which are living and 
progressive, it is evident that the collections it contains 
have been allowed to remain for years in their present con- 

* I deeply regret that I could not visit the mining districts of Brazil. Es- 
pecially would I have liked to examine for myself the Cascalho, in which the 
diamonds are found. From collections which I owe to the kindness of Dr. 
Vieira de Mattos in Rio de Janeiro, and Senhor Antonio de Lacerda in Bahia, 
I am prepared to find that the whole diamond-bearing formation is glacial 
drift. I do not mean the rocks in which the diamonds occur in their primary 
position, but the secondary agglomerations of loose materials from which they 
are washed. 



502 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



dition, without additions or improvements. The mounted 
animals, mammalia and birds, are faded ; and the fishes, 
with the exception of a few beautifully stuffed specimens 
from the Amazons, give no idea of the variety to be 
found in the Brazilian waters. A better collection might 
be made any morning in the fish-market. The Museum 
contains some very fine fossil remains from the valley of the 
San Francisco and from Ceard, but no attempt has as yet 
been made to arrange them. 

The only learned society deserving a special mention is 
the Historical and Geographical Institute. Its Transactions 
are regularly published, and form already a series of many 
volumes, full of valuable documents, chiefly relative to the 
history of South America. The meetings are held in the 
Imperial Palace of Rio, and are habitually presided over by 
his Majesty the Emperor. 

I cannot close what I have to say of instruction in 
Brazil without adding that, in a country where only half 
the nation is educated, there can be no complete intellec- 
tual progress. Where the difference of education makes 
an intelligent sympathy between men and women almost 
impossible, so that their relation is necessarily limited to 
that of the domestic affections, never raised except in some 
very exceptional cases to that of cultivated companionship, 
the development of the people as a whole must remain im- 
perfect and partial. I believe, however, that, especially in 
this direction, a rapid reform may be expected. I have heard 
so many intelligent Brazilians lament the want of suitable 
instruction for women in their schools, that I think the 
standard of education for girls will steadily be raised. Re- 
membering the antecedents of the Brazilians, their inher- 
ited notions as to what is becoming in the privacy and 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



503 



restraint of a woman's life, we are not justified, however 
false these ideas may seem to us, in considering the present 
generation as responsible for them ; they are also too 
deeply rooted to be changed in a day. 

On several occasions I have alluded in terms of praise to 
the working of the institutions of Brazil. Nothing can be 
more liberal than the Constitution of the land ; every 
guaranty is therein secured to the freest assertion of all 
the natural rights of man. And yet there are some fea- 
tures in the habits of the people, probably the results of 
an antiquated social condition, which impede the progress 
of the nation. It should not be forgotten that the white 
population of Brazil is chiefly descended from the Portu- 
guese, and that of all Europe Portugal is the country which 
at the time of the discovery and settlement of Brazil, had 
least been affected by the growth of our modern civilization. 
Indeed, the great migrations which convulsed Europe in 
the Middle Ages, and the Reformation, upon which the new 
social order chiefly rests, have scarcely affected Portugal ; 
so that Roman ways, Roman architecture, and a degenerate 
Latin were still flourishing when her Transatlantic colo- 
nies were founded ; and, as in all colonies, the conditions 
of the mother country were but slowly modified. No 
wonder, therefore, that the older structures of Rio de 
Janeiro should recall, in the most surprising manner, 
the architecture of ancient Rome, as disclosed by the ex- 
cavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii, and that the social 
condition of Brazil should remind us of the habits of a 
people among whom women played so subordinate a part. 
It seems to me that even now the administration of the 
provinces, as in the Roman civilization, is calculated to en- 
force the law, rather than to develop the material resources 



504 



A JOURNEY IN BKAZIL. 



of the country. I have been surprised to find young law- 
yers almost invariably at the head of the administration of 
the provinces, where practical men, conversant with the in- 
terests of agriculture, commerce, and the mechanical arts, 
would, in my opinion, have been better adapted to the 
pressing duty of stimulating all pursuits connected with 
the active life of a young and aspiring nation. 

The exaggerated appreciation of political employment 
prevailing everywhere is a misfortune. It throws into the 
shade all other occupations, and loads the government with 
a crowd of paid officials who uselessly encumber the public 
service and are a drain upon the public funds. Every man 
who has received an education seeks a political career, as 
at once the most aristocratic and the easiest way of gaining 
a livelihood. It is but recently that gentlemen have begun 
to engage in mercantile pursuits. 

It seems to me, that, though the character and habits 
of the Brazilians are not those of an agricultural people, 
Brazil is an essentially agricultural country, and some 
occurrences in her recent history confirm this view. Bra- 
zil had formerly a great variety of agricultural products, 
but now the number of plants under culture is rather 
limited. Agricultural operations are at present centred 
upon coffee, cotton, sugar, tobacco, mandioca, some cereals, 
beans, and cocoa. Owing to her climate and her geographi- 
cal position, the vegetable zones of Brazil are not so marked 
as those of other countries. It would not be difficult to 
divide the whole Empire, with reference to its productions, 
into three great regions. The first of these, stretching from 
the borders of Guiana to Bahia, along the great rivers, is 
more especially ^characterized by the wild products of the 
forest : Indian-rubber, cocoa, vanilla, sarsaparilla, and an 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



505 



infinite variety of gums, resins, barks, and textile fibres still 
unknown to commerce in Europe and the United States. 
To these Brazil might add spices, the monopoly of which 
belongs now to the Sunda Islands. The second region, 
extending from Bahia to Santa Catarina, is that of 
coffee. The third, from Santa Catarina to Rio Grande, 
and in the interior of the high plateaux, is that of the 
grains ; and, in connection with their culture, the raising 
of cattle. Rice, which is easily grown throughout Brazil, 
and cotton, which yields magnificent crops in all the 
provinces, bind together these three zones, sugar and to- 
bacco following in their train. An important step with 
reference to agriculture, which has scarcely been thought 
of as yet, is the cultivation of the heights of the Organ 
Mountains, as well as those of the Serra do Mar and the 
Serra do Mantiqueira. On these high lands might be 
raised all the products characteristic of the warmer por- 
tions of the temperate zones, and Rio de Janeiro would 
receive daily from the mountains in her immediate neigh- 
borhood all those vegetables and garden fruits which she 
now procures in small quantities and at high prices from 
the provinces bordering on the La Plata. The slopes of 
these Serras might also be covered with plantations of cas- 
carilla, and, as the production of quinine must sooner or 
later be greatly diminished by the devastation of the Cin- 
chora-trees on the upper Amazonian tributaries, it is the 
more important that their culture should be introduced 
upon the largest scale on the heights above Rio. The 
attempts of Mr. Glaziou in that direction deserve every 
encouragement. 

The sugar-cane has long been the chief object of cul- 
tivation in Brazil, and the production of sugar is still 

22 



506 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



considerable; but within several years the planting of 
sugar-cane has given way in many districts to that of coffee. 
I have taken pains to ascertain the facts respecting the cul 
ture of coffee during the last fifty years ; the immense 
development of this branch of industry and the rapidity 
of the movement, especially in a country where labor 
is so scarce, is among the most striking economical phe- 
nomena of our century. Thanks to their perseverance 
and to the favorable conditions presented by the constitu- 
tion of their soil, the Brazilians have obtained a sort of 
monopoly of coffee. More than half the coffee consumed 
in the world is of Brazilian growth. And yet the coffee of 
Brazil has little reputation, and is even greatly underrated. 
Why is this ? Simply because a great deal of the best pro- 
duce of Brazilian plantations is sold under the name of Java 
or Mocha, or as the coffee of Martinique or Bourbon. Mar- 
tinique produces only six hundred sacks of coffee annually ; 
Guadaloupe, whose coffee is sold under the name of the 
neighboring island, yields six thousand sacks, not enough to 
provide the market of Rio de Janeiro for twenty-four hours, 
and the island of Bourbon hardly more. A great part of 
the coffee which is bought under these names, or under that 
of Java coffee, is Brazilian, while the so-called Mocha coffee 
is often nothing but the small round beans of the Brazilian 
plant found at the summits of the branches and very care- 
fully selected. If the fazendeiros, like the Java planters, 
sold their crops under a special mark, the great purchasers 
would learn with what merchandise they have to deal, and 
the agriculture of Brazil would be greatly benefited. But 
there intervenes between the fazendeiro and the exporter a 
class of merchants — half bankers, half brokers — known as 
commissarios, who, by mixing different harvests, lower the 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



50T 



standard of the crop, thus relieving the producer of all 
responsibility and depriving the product of its true charac- 
teristics. 

If the provinces adjacent to Rio de Janeiro offer natural- 
ly the most favorable soil for the culture of coffee, it must 
not be forgotten that coffee is planted with advantage in 
the shade of the Amazonian forest, and even yields two 
annual crops wherever pains are taken to plant it. In the 
province of Ceara, where the coffee is of a superior quality, 
it is not planted on the plains, or in the low grounds, or in 
the shadow of the forest, as in the valley of the Amazons, 
but on the slopes of the hills and on the mountain heights, 
to an elevation of from fifteen hundred to two thousand 
feet and more above the level of the sea, in the Serras of 
Aratanha and Baturite* and in the Serra Grande. The 
channels opened to these products should augment their 
importance, and should give rise to numerous establish- 
ments in the valley of the Amazons. 

The increased exportation of cotton from Brazil during 
the last few years is a still more marked feature in its indus- 
trial history than the large coffee crops. When, towards the 
close of the last century, cotton began to assume in England 
an importance which has ever since been increasing, Brazil 
naturally became one of the great providers of the English 
market. But it soon lost this advantage, because our 
Southern States acquired, with an extraordinary rapidity, 
an almost complete monopoly of this product. Favored by 
exceptional circumstances, North America succeeded, about 
the year 1846, in furnishing cotton at such low rates that 
all competition became impossible, and the culture of cotton 
was almost abandoned in other countries. Brazil, how- 
ever, persisted. Her annual production showed a slow but 



508 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



steady progress ; even the cessation of the slave-trade did 
not interrupt this advance. Indeed, it is a striking fact, 
which may well be mentioned in this connection, that the 
statistics of Brazilian agriculture have been steadily rising 
ever since the abolition of the slave-trade. When the 
Rebellion broke out in our Southern States, Brazil thus 
found herself prepared to give a considerable impulse to 
the cultivation of a product as much sought for as bread 
in time of famine. Spite of the want of population, which 
is an obstacle to all industrial enterprises in Brazil, she 
found labor, and, what was still more important, free labor, 
for this object. It seemed as if it were a point of national 
honor to show what could be done. Provinces like San 
Paolo, where a foot of ground had never before been 
planted with cotton ; others, as for instance Alagoas, 
Parahyba do Norte, Ceara, where the cultivation of cotton 
had been abandoned, produced extraordinary quantities, — 
so large, indeed, that two lines of steamers were estab- 
lished, and have prospered, between Liverpool and the 
above-mentioned ports, chiefly for the transport of this 
crop. It will be remembered that during the whole of 
this time Brazil was in want of laborers, that she received 
no foreign capital for this undertaking, that she imported 
neither Coolies nor Chinese, that almost immediately after 
the movement began her war with Paraguay broke out, 
and yet her production of cotton has quadrupled and 
quintupled. This fact assumed such importance in the 
estimate of industrial interests at the late Paris Exposition, 
that an exceptional prize was awarded to Brazil, on the 
ground that, in supplying the European market so largely 
with this indispensable staple, she had rendered it inde- 
pendent of the former monopoly of the United States. It 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



509 



is true that the same prize was also granted to Algeria 
and to Egypt. But the Brazilian planter had not, like the 
colonists of Africa, the stimulus of a large subsidy from 
government ; he could not, like the Viceroy of Egypt, seize 
80,000 men in a single district and transport them to his 
plantations ; neither did he, like the Egyptian fellah, aban- 
don all other branches of agriculture in order to devote 
himself exclusively to that of cotton. In fact, the general 
interests of agriculture prospered in Brazil, in the midst 
of this new enterprise. 

I have insisted on these facts, which I think are little 
known, because they seem to me to show a greater energy 
and vitality than is usually supposed to exist in the pro- 
ductive forces of Brazil. To stimulate this movement, 
the government has recently taken the initiatory steps in 
the organization of an Agricultural School in the vicinity 
of Bahia, in which all the modern improvements suggest- 
ed by the progress of science and invention, are to be 
tested in their application to the natural products of the 
tropics. 

The importance of the basin of the Amazons to Brazil, 
from an industrial point of view, can hardly be over- 
estimated. Its woods alone have an almost priceless value. 
Nowhere in the world is there finer timber, either for solid 
construction or for works of ornament ; and yet it is scarce- 
ly used even for the local buildings, and makes no part 
whatever of the exports. It is strange that the development 
of this branch of industry should not even have begun in 
Brazil, for the rivers which flow past these magnificent 
forests seem meant to serve, first as a water-power for 
the saw-mills which ought to be established along their 
borders, and then as a means of transportation for the 



510 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



material so provided. Setting aside the woods as timber, 
what shall I say of the mass of fruits, resins, oils, coloring 
matters, textile fibres, which they yield ? When I stopped 
at Para, on my way home to the United States, an exhibi- 
tion of Amazonian products, brought together in prepara- 
tion for the World's Fair at Paris, was still open. Much 
as I had admired, during my journey, the richness and 
variety of the materials native to the soil, I was amazed 
when I saw them thus side by side. There I noticed, 
among others, a collection of no less than one hundred and 
seventeen different kinds of highly valuable woods, cut 
from a piece of land less than half a mile square. Of 
these many were dark-colored, veined woods susceptible 
of a high polish, — as beautiful as rosewood or ebony. 
There was a great variety of vegetable oils, all remarka- 
ble for their clearness and purity. There were a number 
of fabrics made from the fibres of the palm, and an end- 
less variety of fruits. An empire might esteem itself rich 
in any one of the sources of industry which abound in 
this valley, and yet the greater part of its vast growth 
rots on the ground, and goes to form a little more river- 
mud or to stain the waters on the shores of which its 
manifold products die and decompose. But what sur- 
prised me most was to find that a great part of this 
region was favorable to the raising of cattle. Fine sheep 
are fed on the grassy plains and on the hills which stretch 
between Obydos and Almeyrim, and I have rarely eaten 
better mutton than at Erere*, in the midst of these serras. 
And yet the inhabitants of this fertile region suffer from 
hunger. The insufficiency of food is evident ; but it 
arises solely from the inability of the people to avail 
themselves of the natural productions of the soil. As 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



511 



an instance of this, I may mention that, though living on 
the banks of rivers which abound in delicious fish, they 
make large use of salt cod, imported from other countries ! 

While travelling upon the Amazons, I have often asked 
myself what would be the best plan for developing the 
natural resources of that incomparable region. No doubt 
the opening of the great river to the commerce of all 
nations was a first step in the right direction ; and this 
measure in itself shows what extraordinary progress Bra- 
zil is making, for it is hardly more than half a century, 
since, owing to the narrow policy and jealous disposition 
of the Portuguese government, the greatest traveller of 
modern times was forbidden to enter the valley of the 
Amazons ; while to-day a scientific errand of a similar 
character is welcomed and fostered in every possible way 
by the government of a nation now independent of Eu- 
rope. But a free competition is a necessary complement 
to the freedom already granted, and competition is scarcely 
possible where monopolies are kept up. I hold, therefore, 
that all the exceptional facilities granted by the Brazilian 
government to private companies are detrimental to its 
best interests. There is, however, another direct obstacle 
to progress which ought at once to be removed, since the 
change could in no way injure the general welfare. The 
present limitation of the provinces of Para*, and of the Ama- 
zons is entirely unnatural. The whole valley is cut in two 
transversely, so that its lower half is of necessity a bar 
to the independent growth of the upper half. Para, being 
made the centre of everything, drains the whole country 
without vitalizing the interior. The great river which 
should be an international highway has become an inland 
stream. But suppose for a moment that the Amazons, 



(4? 



612 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



like our Mississippi, were made the boundary between a 
succession of independent provinces on either side of it ; 
suppose that on the southern banks of the Amazons the 
province of Teffe should extend from the borders of Peru 
to the banks of the Madeira, the province of Santarem from 
the Madeira to the Xingu, and that of Para be reduced 
to the country east of the Xingu, including the Island of 
Marajo ; each of these separate provinces would then be 
at once bounded and traversed by great streams, securing 
the double activity of competition and the stimulus of in- 
ternal conveniences. In like manner should the lands on 
the northern banks of the Amazons form several indepen- 
dent provinces ; that of Monte Alegre, for instance, ex- 
tending from the Rio Trombetas to the sea ; that of Ma- 
naos, from the Rio Trombetas to the Rio Negro ; and per- 
haps that of the Hyapura, enclosing the present wilder- 
ness between the Rio Negro and the Solimoens. It will, no 
doubt, be objected that such a change would involve an 
administrative staff quite disproportionate to the present 
population ; but the government of such provinces, even 
with the few inhabitants they might number, if organized 
upon the plan of the territorial governments of our infant 
States, would only stimulate local energies, and develop 
local resources, without interfering in the least with the 
central government. Moreover, any one familiar with the 
working of the present system in the valley of the Amazons 
must be aware that all the cities started during the past 
century along the great river and its tributaries, far from 
progressing, are going to ruin and decay ; and this is un- 
questionably owing to the centralization at Para of all the 
real activity of the whole country. 

Without a much denser population, the best efforts of 



GENEEAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



513 



Brazil to increase its prosperity must be slow and ineffec- 
tive. No wonder, then, that, immediately after the decla- 
ration of independence, Dom Pedro I. attempted to attract 
German emigrants to his new empire. From that period 
dates the Colony of San Leopoldo, near Porto Alegre, on the 
Rio Grande do Sul. It was not, however, till the year 
1850, when the slave-trade was actually abolished, and it 
was no longer possible to import labor from Africa, that 
these colonization schemes assumed a more definite and 
settled character. Tn this attempt the planters and the 
government were agreed, but with a different object. The 
plan of the government, undertaken in perfect good faith, 
was to create a laboring population, and a class of small 
landed proprietors. The planters, on the contrary, ac- 
customed to compulsory labor, thought only of recruiting 
their slave ranks by substituting Europeans for Africans. 
This led to terrible abuses ; under pretence of advancing 
their passage-money, poor emigrants, and especially the 
ignorant Portuguese from the Azores, were virtually sold 
under a contract which they subsequently found it very 
difficult to break. These abuses have thrown discredit 
upon the attempts of the Brazilian government to colonize 
the interior, but the iniquities practised under the name 
of emigration are now corrected. In fact, the colonies 
established directly by the government, on public lands, 
have never suffered wrong ; on the contrary, the German 
settlements in Sta Catherina, on the Rio Grande do Sul 
and on the San Francisco do Sul are very prosperous. 
The best evidence of the improvement in the condition 
of the colonists, and of the more liberal spirit of the na- 
tion towards them, is the spontaneous formation in Rio 
de Janeiro of an international society of emigration inde- 

22* GG 



514 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



pendent of all government influence, consisting of Bra- 
zilians, Portuguese, Germans, Swiss, Americans, French, &c. 
The objects of this society, of which Mr. Tavares Bastos is 
one of the most influential members, are, first, to reform 
the constitution in all which may place the foreigner at a 
disadvantage ; second, to redress the wrongs of the emi- 
grants ; third, to provide them with such assistance and 
information as they may need on arriving. This society 
has been in existence only two years, but has already 
rendered valuable services. It is to be hoped that the 
government will persevere in the liberal course it has 
entered upon, and, above all, put an end to the unnecessary 
legal formalities by which the emigrant is prevented from 
taking immediate possession of his new home. This is 
especially important in the region of the Amazons, where 
the new-comer finds none of those facilities which welcome 
the emigrant in the United States. I cannot too often 
repeat, also, that all monopoly of transport in the Amazons 
should speedily be abolished. As soon as the wild prod- 
ucts of its shores are subjected to a regular culture, even 
of a very imperfect kind, and are no longer gathered at 
random, — as soon as organized labor, directed by an in- 
telligent activity, takes the place of the thoughtless and 
uncertain efforts of the Indians, the variety and excellence 
of its staples will be increased beyond all* expectation. As 
it is, a little foresight would prevent an immense deal of 
suffering in this fertile region, where food abounds and 
people die of hunger. Accustomed to live upon fish, the 
natives make little use either of milk or meat, and the fine 
pasturage which might maintain herds of cattle is allowed 
to run to waste. Careless of the inclemency of the weather 
when gathering the harvest of the forest, they scarcely 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



515 



build a shelter against the heavy rains, allow their wet 
clothes to dry upon their skin, and expose themselves to 
constant alternations of heat and cold. Add to this, that 
they do not hesitate to drink stagnant water, if it be nearer 
at hand than spring water, and we have causes enough 
for the prevalence of intermittent fever and malarious 
diseases, without attributing them to a climate which is 
in the main salubrious, and far more moderate in tem- 
perature than is generally supposed. The false notions 
generally current, even in Brazil, in regard to the climate 
of the Amazons might have been removed long ago, were 
the public officers of the northern provinces of the Empire 
not interested in keeping up the delusion. The Ama- 
zonian provinces are made stepping-stones to higher em- 
ployments. The young candidates who accept these posts 
claim a reward for the disinterestedness they have shown 
in exposing themselves to disease, and make the reputed 
fatality of the climate an excuse for leaving these remote 
stations after a few months' sojourn. The northern prov- 
inces of Brazil need an administration less liable to change, 
and based upon patient study of their local interests, and 
a faithful adherence to them. It is impossible that the 
president who comes for six months, and is daily longing 
for his return to the society and amusements of the larger 
cities, should even initiate, far less complete, any systematic 
improvements. Like every country struggling for recogni- 
tion among the self-reliant nations of the world, Brazil has 
to contend with the prejudiced reports of a floating foreign 
population, indifferent to the welfare of the land they tem- 
porarily inhabit, and whose appreciations are mainly in- 
fluenced by private interest. It is much to be regretted 
that the government has not thought it worth while to 



516 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



take decided measures to correct the erroneous impressions 
current abroad concerning its administration, and that its 
diplomatic agents do so little to circulate truthful and 
authoritative statements of their domestic concerns. As 
far as I know, the recent World's Fair at Paris was the 
first occasion when an attempt was made to present a com- 
prehensive report of the resources of the Empire, and the 
prizes awarded to the Brazilians testify to their success. 

Imperfect as is this sketch, I trust I have been able to 
show, what I deeply feel, that there are elements of a high 
progress in Brazil, that it has institutions which are shaping 
the country to worthy ends, that it has a nationality already 
active, showing its power at the present moment in carrying 
on one of the most important wars ever undertaken in South 
America. Neither is this struggle maintained by Brazil for 
selfish ends ; in her conflict with Paraguay she may truly be 
counted among the standard-bearers of civilization. The 
facts which have come to my knowledge respecting this war 
have convinced me that it originated in honorable purposes, 
and, setting aside the selfish intrigues of individuals, inevit- 
ably connected with such movements, is carried on with dis- 
interestedness. It deserves the sympathy of the civilized 
world, for it strikes at a tyrannical organization, hajf cleri- 
cal, half military, which, calling itself a republic, disgraces 
the name it assumes. 

Will my Brazilian friends who read this summary say 
that I have given but grudging praise to their public insti- 
tutions, accompanied by an unkind criticism of their social 
condition ? I hope not. I should do myself great wrong 
did I give the impression that I part from Brazil with any 
feeling but that of warm sympathy, a deep-rooted belief in 



GENERAL IMPRESSIONS OF BRAZIL. 



517 



her future progress and prosperity, and sincere personal 
gratitude toward her. I recognize in the Brazilians as a 
nation their susceptibility to lofty impulses and emotions, 
their love of theoretical liberty, their natural generosity, 
their aptness to learn, their ready eloquence ; if also I miss 
among them something of the stronger and more persistent 
qualities of the Northern races, I do but recall a distinction 
which is as ancient as the tropical and temperate zones 
themselves. 



APPENDIX. 



I. — THE GULF STREAM. 

As the results of the systematic investigation of the Gulf Stream 
upon a plan laid out by Dr. A. D. Bache, and executed, under his 
direction, by his most able assistants, have hardly yet been presented 
in a popular form, a sketch of the whole may not be out of place 
here. This investigation embraced not only surface-phenomena, 
but the whole internal structure and movement of this wonderful 
current. It is well known that the Gulf Stream has its origin in 
the equatorial current which, starting from the Gulf of Guinea, 
flows for a time in a westerly direction, till it approaches Cape St. 
Roque. This great projection of the eastern coast of South Amer- 
ica interrupts its onward progress, and causes it to divide into two 
branches, one of which follows the coast of Brazil, in a southerly 
direction, while the other continues its course to the northwest, 
until it reaches the Caribbean Sea. After pouring into that basin, 
the great stream turns to the east to enter the Atlantic again off 
Cape Florida. The high temperature of the equatorial current is 
owing to its origin in the tropical zone, its westward course being 
determined by the rotation of the earth and by the trade-winds. 
On issuing from the Gulf of Mexico the stream is encased between 
the island of Cuba and the Bahamas on one side and the coast of 
Florida on the other. Here it meets the Atlantic in a latitude where 
the ocean-waters have no longer the high temperature of the tropics, 
whereas the stream itself has acquired an increased warmth on 
the shoals of the Gulf. This accounts for the great difference of 
temperature between the waters of the stream and tnose of the 



520 



APPENDIX. 



ocean to the east of it ; while the still greater cold of the sea-water 
on its western side, between the Gulf Stream and the continental 
shore, is explained by the great Arctic current, pouring down from 
Baffin's Bay, and skirting the shore of North America as far as the 
Coast of Florida, until it is lost in that latitude under the Gulf 
Stream. The object of Dr. Bache's investigation was to trace the 
mutual relations of these two great currents of warm and cold 
water, flowing side by side in opposite directions, and to discover 
the conditions which regulate their movements and keep them 
within definite limits. 

The investigation is even now by no means complete, though it has 
been going on for many years. It has, however, been ascertained 
that, while the ocean-bed deepens more or less rapidly as we recede 
from the shore, forming a trough in which the Gulf Stream flows, 
this trough is limited on its eastern side by a range of hills trend- 
ing in the direction of the current, outside of which is another de- 
pression or valley. Indeed, the sea-bottom exhibits parallel ridges 
and depressions, running like the shore of the continent itself, in a 
northeasterly direction. The water presents differences of tem- 
perature, not only on the surface, but at various depths below. 
These inequalities have been determined by a succession of 
thermometric observations along several lines, crossing the Gulf 
Stream from the shore to the ocean water on its eastern side, at 
intervals of about a hundred miles. The observations have been 
made first at the surface, and then at successively greater depths, 
varying from ten to twenty, thirty, one hundred, two hundred, and 
even three and four hundred fathoms. This survey has shown 
that, while the Gulf Stream has a temperature higher than that 
of the waters on either side, it is also alternately warmer and 
colder within itself, being made up as it were of distinct streaks 
of water of different temperature. These alternations continue to 
as great a depth as the observations have been carried, and are 
found to extend even to the very bottom of the sea, where this has 
been reached. The most surprising part of this result is the 



APPENDIX. 



521 



abruptness of the change along the line where the two great cur- 
rents touch each other. So sharp is this division that the boundary 
of the Arctic current is now technically designated as the " Cold 
wall" of the Gulf Stream. Of course as the latter flows north- 
ward and eastward it gradually widens, and its temperature is 
lowered ; but even as far north as Sandy Hook the difference 
between its temperature at the surface and that of the surround- 
ing waters is still marked. 

Off Cape Florida the width of the Gulf Stream is not over forty 
miles ; off Charleston it is one hundred and fifty miles ; while at 
Sandy Hook it exceeds three hundred miles. 

The inequality of the bottom may be appreciated by the sound- 
ings off Charleston, where, from the shore to a distance of two 
hundred miles, the following depth was successively measured: 
10, 25, 100, 250, 300, 600, 350, 550, 450, 475, 450, and 
400 fathoms. 

The following table may give some idea of the temperature of 
the stream in connection with its depth:-— 

Off Sandy Hook, at successive distances from the coast, of 

100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 miles, 

the temperature near the surface to a depth of thirty fathoms 
averages : 

65°, 66°, 64°, 81°, 80°, and 75° Fahr.; 
at a depth of between forty and a hundred fathoms it averages : 

50°, 52°, 50°, 47°, 72°, 68°, and 65° Fahr. ; 
at a depth below three hundred fathoms it averages : 

37°, 39°, 40°, 37°, 55°, 57°, and 55° Fahr. 

The rapid rise of the temperature after the fourth column of fig- 
ures indicates the position of the Cold wall. 

For further details see the United States Coast Survey Report 
for 1860, page 165, and the accompanying maps, — which should 
be copied into all our school atlases. 



522 



APPENDIX. 



lie — FLYING-FISHES. 

The motions of animals vary greatly with reference to the 
medium in which they live. Our present knowledge renders it, 
however, necessary that we should weigh these differences with 
reference to the structural character of the organs of locomotion 
themselves, as well as to that of the peculiar resistance of the 
element in which they move. When we speak of the flight of 
Birds, of Insects, of Fishes, of Bats, &c, and designate their 
locomotive organs indiscriminately as wings, it is evident that the 
character of the motion and not the special structure of the organs 
has determined our nomenclature. We are influenced by the same 
consideration when we give the name of fins to the organs of all 
animals which swim in the water, be they Whales, Turtles, Fishes, 
Crustacea, or Mollusks. It requires but a superficial acquaintance 
with the anatomy of the flying-fishes to perceive that their organs 
of flight are built upon exactly the same pattern as the pectoral 
fins of most fishes, and differ entirely from the wing of birds, as 
also from the wing of bats, the latter being in all essentials a paw, 
identical with the paw of ordinary quadrupeds, save the length of 
the fingers and the absence of nails on the longest of them. No 
wonder, then, that the flight of the flying-fishes should entirely 
differ from that of birds or bats- 

I have had frequent occasions to observe the flying-fishes atten- 
tively. I am confident not only that they change the direction 
of their flight, but that they raise or lower their line of move- 
ment repeatedly, without returning to the water. I avoid the word 
falling designedly, for all the acts of these fishes during their 
flight seem to me completely voluntary. They raise themselves 
from the surface of the water by rapidly repeated blows with the 
tail, and more than once have I seen them descend again to the 



APPENDIX. 



523 



surface of the water in order to repeat this movement ; thus renew- 
ing the impulse and enabling themselves to continue for a longer 
time their passage through the air. Their changes of direction, 
either to the right and left or in rising and descending, are not due 
to the beating of the wings, that is to say, of the great pectoral fins, 
but simply to an inflexion of the whole surface, in one or the other 
direction, by the contraction of the muscles controlling the action 
of the fin-rays, their pressure against the air determining the move- 
ment. The flying-fish is in fact a living shuttlecock, capable of 
directing its own course by the bending of its large fins. It probably 
maintains itself in the air until the necessity of breathing compels 
it to return to the water. The motive of its flight seems to me to 
be fear ; for it is always in the immediate neighborhood and in front 
of the vessel that they are seen to rise ; or perhaps at a distance 
when they are pursued by some large fish. Now that I have studied 
their movements, I am better able to appreciate the peculiarities of 
their structure, especially the inequality of the caudal fin. It is per- 
fectly clear that the greater length of the lower lobe of the caudal 
is intended to facilitate the movements by which the whole body is 
thrown out of water and carried through the air ; while the ampli- 
tude of the pectoral fins affords only a support during the passage 
through the lighter medium. Nothing shows more plainly the 
freedom of their movements than the fact that, when the surface 
of the sea is swelling into billows, the flying-fishes may hug its 
inequalities very closely and do not move in a regular curve, first 
ascending from and then descending again to the level of the 
water. Nor do they appear to fall into their natural element, as 
if the power that had impelled them was exhausted ; they seem 
rather to dive voluntarily into the water, sometimes after a very 
short and sometimes after a rather protracted flight, during which 
they may change their direction, as well as the height at which 
they move. 

The most common flying-fishes of the Atlantic belong to the 
genus Exocetus, and are closely allied to our Billfish (Belone). 



524 APPENDIX. 

J. Miiller has shown that they differ greatly from the Herrings, 
with which they were formerly associated, and should form a 
distinct family, to which he has given the name of Scomberesoces. 
The other flying-fishes belong to the family of the Cottoids, of 
which our common Sculpins are the chief representatives. 



APPENDIX. 



525 



III. — RESOLUTIONS PASSED ON BOARD THE 
COLORADO. 

Resolved, That the cordial thanks of this meeting are due to 
Professor Agassiz for the highly interesting and instructive lec- 
tures which he has delivered daily during our voyage, and 
which, though intended more immediately to prepare his party 
for their proposed expedition, have furnished to all of us a rich 
repast. 

Resolved, That the Professor and his companions will carry 
with them to their beneficent work the earnest prayers and good 
wishes of all with whom they have been associated on board 
this ship, that health and abundant success may be vouchsafed to 
them. 

Resolved, That in this mission of science from one country con- 
vulsed by war to another not entirely at peace, we behold the 
humanizing and pacific influence of its aims and studies, and that 
we cannot but look forward to a day when nations engaged in the 
common pursuits of science and industry, and bound together by 
commerce and by enlightened views of interest and of Christian 
duty, will refer all questions in dispute to peaceful arbitrament 
rather than to one of violence and bloodshed. 

Resolved, That in the facilities afforded by the government of 
the United States to this scientific expedition, in the munificent 
contribution of a single citizen of Boston towards its expenses, and 
in the generous manner in which the owners of this ship have 
placed its unsurpassed comforts and luxuries at the free use of 
Professor Agassiz and his party, this meeting beholds a pledge 
of the profound and growing interest of our entire people in the 
advancement of liberal and useful knowledge. 

Resolved, That we cannot approach the capital of Brazil for the 
purpose of leaving this party, without expressing our admiration 



526 



APPENDIX. 



for the personal and political character of him who presides over 
this vast Empire, and who may well be held forth to all rulers as 
a model of intelligence, of virtue, and devotion to the public 
weal. 

Resolved, That we cannot close this part of our voyage without 
tendering to Captain Bradbury, and his subordinate officers, our 
special thanks, not only for the masterly manner with which their 
vessel is handled, but for their unwearied devotion to the comfort 
of their guests. 



APPENDIX. 



527 



IV. — DOM PEDRO SEGUNDO RAILROAD. 

The part taken by American engineers in this great undertaking 
induces me to give here a short account of its history. 

The decree conceding to one or more companies the entire or 
partial construction of a railway which, commencing in the munici- 
pality of Rio de Janeiro, should terminate in such points in the 
Provinces of Minas and St. Paulo as should be most advantageous, 
was promulgated in 1852. A company was organized with a capi- 
tal of thirty-eight thousand Contos of reis, or nineteen millions of 
dollars ; the general plan being to construct a trunk line from the 
city of Rio de Janeiro to the River Parahyba, a distance of about 
67 miles from the coast. A contract was made with an English 
engineer, Mr. Edward Price, for the building of the first section of 
this road, extending a distance of 38£ miles, from Rio de Janeiro to 
Belem. For the construction of the second section, which embraced 
the mountain barrier separating the valley of Parahyba from the 
sea-coast, and in which the greatest difficulties were therefore to be 
encountered, it was proposed by Senhor Christiano B. Ottoni, Presi- 
dent of the road, to employ American engineers, and if possible to 
engage the services of men who had actually constructed railways 
across mountain ranges in the United States. To this effect, 
Colonel C. F. M. Garnett was engaged as chief engineer, and came 
to Brazil in 1856, accompanied by Major A. Ellison, as his principal 
assistant. Colonel Garnett remained in the country somewhat more 
than two years, during which time the portion of the road known 
as the second section, and extending from Belem to Parahyba, was 
laid out and its construction commenced, surveys being also made 
of the branches up and down the river, constituting the third and 
fourth sections. On Colonel Garnett's departure, Major Ellison re- 
mained as chief engineer, having his brother, Mr. Wra. S. Ellison, 
associated with him in the direction of the road. In July, 1865, at 



APPENDIX. 



which time the road was actually completed as far as Barro de 
Pirahy, the company being unable to raise funds for the contin- 
uation of the work, it was assumed by the government, as a na- 
tional undertaking, and Major Ellison, resigning his position, was 
succeeded by Mr. Wm. S. Ellison as chief engineer. 

The difficulties of construction throughout the second section 
were immense ; indeed, there was an almost universal distrust of 
the practicability of the work. Even after it was considerably 
advanced, it would probably have been abandoned but for the en- 
ergy of the President, who shared the confidence of the engineers, 
and pushed forward the enterprise almost single-handed, in spite of » 
the incredulity of its friends and the objections of its opponents. 
The sharpness of the mountain spurs rendering it impossible in 
many cases to pass around them, tunnels became necessary, and 
fifteen were actually made, varying from 300 to more than 7,300 feet 
in length, forming, in the aggregate, three miles of subterraneous 
line. Of those tunnels, three pass through rock decomposed to such 
a degree that lining throughout was necessary, while the rest are 
pierced, for the greater part, through solid rock, though requiring 
the same precaution occasionally. The total length of lining with 
masonry is 5,700 feet. In the course of this operation constant 
danger and difficulty arose from the breaking in of the rock, and 
in one instance the whole mountain spur through which the tun- 
nel had been driven parted from the main mass and, sliding down, 
obliterated the work, so that it was necessary to begin the per- 
foration again, contending continually against the enormous press- 
ure of the loose superincumbent debris. Were this the fitting 
place, it would be interesting to give the history of this enterprise 
more in detail ; especially that of the work connected with building 
the great tunnel and the temporary track which was in use when 
I first passed over the road. Suffice it to say, that all that portion 
of the road which is included within the second section is a triumph 
of engineering, which excites the admiration of the most compe- 
tent judges, and is in the highest degree creditable to those under 
whose direction it has been accomplished. 



APPENDIX. 



529 



V. — PERMANENCE OF CHARACTERISTICS IN DIF- 
FERENT HUMAN SPECIES. 

As my special object of study in the Amazons had reference to 
the character and distribution of the fluviatile faunas, I could not 
undertake those more accurate investigations of the human races, 
based upon minute measurements repeated a thousand-fold, which 
characterize the latest researches of anthropologists. A thorough 
study of the different nations and cross-breeds inhabiting the Am- 
azonian Valley would require years of observation and patient ex- 
amination. I was forced to be satisfied with such data as I could 
gather aside from my other labors, and to limit myself in my study 
of the races to what I would call the natural history method ; viz. 
the comparison of individuals of different kinds with one another, 
just as naturalists compare specimens of different species. This 
was less difficult in a hot country, where the uncultivated part of 
the population go half naked, and are frequently seen entirely un- 
dressed. During a protracted residence in Manaos, Mr. Hunne- 
well made a great many characteristic photographs of Indians and 
Negroes, and half-breeds between both these races and the Whites. 
All these portraits represent the individuals selected in three normal 
positions, in full face, in perfect profile, and from behind. I hope 
sooner or later to have an opportunity of publishing these illustra- 
tions, as well as those of pure negroes made for me in Rio by 
Messrs. Stahl and Wahnschaffe. 

What struck me at first view, in seeing Indians and Negroes 
together, was the marked difference in the relative proportions 
of the different parts of the body. Like long-armed monkeys the 
Negroes are generally slender, with long legs, long arms, and 
a comparatively short body, while the Indians are short-legged, 
short-armed, and long-bodied, the trunk being also rather heavy 
in build. To continue the comparison, I may say that if the Negro 

23 HH 



530 



APPENDIX. 



by his bearing recalls the slender, active Hylobates, the Indian 
is more like the slow, inactive, stout Orang. Of course there are 
exceptions to this rule ; short, thick-built Negroes are occasion- 
ally to be seen, as well as tall, lean Indians ; but, so far as my 
observation goes, the essential difference between the Indian and 
Negro races, taken as a whole, consists in the length and square 
build of the trunk and the shortness of limbs in the Indian as 
compared with the lean frame, short trunk, deep-cleft legs, and 
long arms of the Negro. 

Another feature not less striking, though it does not affect the 
whole figure so much, is the short neck and great width of the 
shoulders in the Indian. This peculiarity is quite as marked in the 
female as in the male, so that, when seen from behind, the Indian 
woman has a very masculine air, extending indeed more or less to 
her whole bearing ; for even her features have rarely the feminine 
delicacy of higher womanhood. In the Negro, on the contrary, 
the narrowness of chest and shoulder characteristic of woman is 
almost as marked in the man ; indeed, it may well be said, that, 
while the Indian female is remarkable for her masculine build, the 
Negro male is equally so for his feminine aspect. Nevertheless, 
the difference between the sexes in the two races is not equally 
marked. The female Indian resembles in every respect much more 
the male than is the case with the Negroes ; the females among 
the latter having generally more delicate features than the males. 

On following out the details concomitant with these general dif- 
ferences, we find that they agree most strikingly. In a front 
view of an Indian woman and a Negress the great difference is in 
the width between the breasts of the former as compared with their 
close approximation in the latter. In the Indian the interval be- 
tween the two breasts is nearly equal to the diameter of one of 
them ; while in the Negro they stand in almost immediate contact. 
But this is not all ; .the form of the breast itself is very different 
in the two. The Indian woman has a conical breast, firm and well 
supported, the point being turned so far sideways that the breast 



APPENDIX. 



531 



seems to arise under the arm-pit, the nipple being actually pro- 
jected on the arm in a full-faced view of the chest. In the negress 
the breast is more cylindrical, looser, and more flaccid, the nipple 
being turned forward and downward, so that in a front view it is 
projected on the chest. In the Indian the inguinal region is 
broad and distinctly set off from the prominence of the abdomen, 
while in the Negro it is a mere fold. As to the limbs, they are not 
only much longer in proportion in the Negro than the Indian ; 
their form and carriage differs also. The legs of the Indians are 
remarkably straight, in the Negro the knees are bent in, and the hip 
as well as knee-joint habitually flexed. Similar differences in other 
parts of the body are visible from behind ; in the Indians the in- 
terval between the two shoulders, the shoulder-blades being com- 
paratively short in themselves, is much greater than in any other 
race. In this respect the women do not differ from the men, but 
share in a feature characteristic of the whole race. This peculi- 
arity is especially noticeable in a profile view of the figure, in 
which the broad rounded shoulder marks the outline in the upper 
part of the trunk and tapers gradually to a well-shaped arm, ter- 
minating usually in a rather small hand ; the little finger is re- 
markably short. In the Negro, on the contrary, the shoulder-blades 
are long and placed more closely together, the shoulder being rather 
slim and narrow, and the hand disproportionately slender, though 
the fingers are more extensively webbed than in any other race. 
In this respect there is little difference between male and female, 
the build of the male being more muscular, but hardly stouter ; in 
both, a profile view shows the back and breast projected forwards 
and backwards of the arm. The proportions between the length 
and width of the trunk, as compared with each other, and, measured 
from the shoulder to the base of the trunk, hardly differ in the 
Indian and Negro ; this renders the difference in the relative length 
and strength of the arms and legs the more apparent. 

I need not allude to the difference of the hair ; everybody knows 
the heavy, straight black hair of the Indian, and the wrinkled, 



532 



APPENDIX. 



woolly hair of the Negro. Nor is it necessary for me to recall the 
characteristic features of the Whites in order to contrast them with 
what has been said above of the Indians and Negroes. 

Only a few words more concerning half-breeds are needed to show 
how deeply seated are the primary differences between the pure 
races. Like distinct species among animals, different races of men, 
when crossing, bring forth half-breeds ; and the half-breeds between 
these different races differ greatly. The hybrid between White and 
Negro, called Mulatto, is too well known to require further descrip- 
tion. His features are handsome, his complexion clear, and his 
character confiding, but indolent. The hybrid between the Indian 
and Negro, known under the name of Cafuzo, is quite different. 
His features have nothing of the delicacy of the Mulatto ; his com- 
plexion is dark ; his hair long, wiry, and curly ; and his character 
exhibits a happy combination between the jolly disposition of the 
Negro and the energetic, enduring powers of the Indian. The 
hybrid between White and Indian, called Mammeluco in Brazil, is 
pallid, effeminate, feeble, lazy, and rather obstinate ; though it 
seems as if the Indian influence had only gone so far as to ob- 
literate the higher characteristics of the White, without imparting 
its own energies to the offspring. It is- very remarkable how, in 
both combinations, with Negroes as well as Whites, the Indian im- 
presses his mark more deeply upon his progeny than the other races, 
and how readily, also, in further crossings, the pure Indian char- 
acteristics are reclaimed and those of the other races thrown off. 
I have known the offspring of an hybrid between Indian and 
Negro with an hybrid between Indian and White resume almost 
completely the characteristics of the pure Indian. 



APPENDIX. 



533 



VI. — SKETCH OF SEPARATE JOURNEYS UNDER- 
TAKEN BY DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE 
EXPEDITION. 

It is not possible for me to give here at length the narrative of 
the separate journeys undertaken by my young companions. To do 
them any justice, their reports should be illustrated by the accom- 
panying maps, geological sections, &c, which are more appropriate 
in a special scientific account. I trust that I shall hereafter find 
resources for publishing all these materials in a fitting manner ; 
but, in the mean while, I should do a wrong to my own feelings as 
well as to my assistants, did I not add to this volume such a sketch 
of their separate work as will show with how much energy, perse- 
verance, and intelligence they carried out the instructions I had 
given them. It will be remembered by the reader that one object 
was kept constantly in view throughout this expedition, — namely, 
that of ascertaining how the fresh-water fishes are distributed 
throughout the great river-systems of Brazil. All the independent 
journeys, of which short sketches are given in this summary, were 
laid out with reference to this idea; the whole expedition being, 
in fact, a unit so far as its purpose and general plan were concerned. 
In this sense my own exploration, and those of all my assistants, 
belong together, as parts of one connected scheme. 

That detachment of the party which was conducted by Mr. 
Orestes St. John left Rio de Janeiro on the 9th of June, 1865. 
This company consisted of Messrs. St. John, Allen, Ward, and 
Sceva. The first two were to reach the Atlantic coast by way of 
the Rio San Francisco and the Rio Paranahyba; while Mr. "Ward 
was to descend the Tocantins to the Amazons, and Mr. Sceva to 
remain for some time in the fossiliferous region about Lagoa Sancta 
for the purpose of collecting. As far as Juiz de Fora they followed 



534 



APPENDIX. 



the road described in the foregoing narrative. Thence they crossed 
the Serra do Mantiqueira to Barbacena, and kept on from that 
place through Lagoa Dourada and Prados across the Rio Caran- 
dahy to the divide separating the head-waters of the Rio Grande 
on the south from those of the Rio Paraopeba on the north. They 
crossed the Paraopeba just above the water gap of the Serras of 
Piedade and Itatiaiassu, traversing the former Serra into the moun- 
tain valley in which the village of Morro Velho is situated. They 
thus found themselves successively in the basins of the Rio Para- 
hyba, the Rio La Plata, and the Rio San Francisco ; all these 
great streams being fed by rivulets which arise in this vicinity. 
On leaving the mountainous districts they continued their route 
through alternate carapos and wooded tracts to Gequitiba, passing 
through Sabura, Santa Luzia, Lagoa Sancta, and Sette Lagoas. 

At Lagoa Sancta, as had been previously agreed, Mr. Sceva left 
the party, with the purpose of exploring the caves of that region 
in search of fossil bones, and making skeletons of mammalia. He 
remained for some time in this neighborhood, and brought away a 
number of specimens, though he did not succeed in finding many 
fossils, the caves having been already despoiled of their fossil re- 
mains by Dr. Lund, whose indefatigable researches in this direc- 
tion are so well known. Mr. Sceva, however, made very valuable 
collections of other kinds, and I am indebted to him for numerous 
carefully prepared specimens of Brazilian mammalia, which now 
await mounting in the Museum. On leaving Lagoa Sancta, Mr. 
Sceva returned to Rio de Janeiro, taking his collections with him. 
He passed some days there, in order to repack and put in safety 
his own specimens as well as those which had been sent back to 
Rio by other members of the party. He then proceeded to Canta- 
Gallo, and passed the remainder of the time in collecting and pre- 
paring specimens from that part of the country, until he joined 
me subsequently at Rio just before we returned to the United 
States. His contributions to our stores were exceedingly valuable, 
both on account of the localities from which they came and from 
the care with which they were put up. 



APPENDIX. 



535 



Mr. "Ward had already separated from his fellow-travellers at 
Barbacena, on his way to the Tocantins, taking the route by Ouro- 
Preto and Diamantina. And in order to keep together the adven- 
tures of the little band who left Rio in company, I may give here 
a short sketch of his journey, before completing the account of 
the route pursued by Messrs. St. John and Allen. After leaving 
the valley of the Rio Parahyba and crossing the Mantiqueira the 
party found itself in the water-basin of the Rio Grande, one of the 
principal tributaries of the Rio Parana, which, emptying into the 
Rio La Plata, reaches the ocean below Buenos Ayres. Eastward 
of this basin, on the ocean-side of the great ridge which bounds the 
valley of the Rio San Francisco, arise several large rivers, — the 
Rio Doce, the Rio Mucury, and the Rio Jequitinhonha. It was 
one of my most earnest desires to secure the means of comparing 
their inhabitants with each other and with those of the great rivers 
flowing north and east. As will be seen hereafter, Mr. Hartt, 
with the assistance of Mr. Copeland, had undertaken to explore the 
lower course of these rivers ; but it was equally important that 
specimens should be obtained from their head-waters. While, 
therefore, Mr. St. John and his companion pursued their way 
across the region drained by the head-waters of the Rio San Fran- 
cisco, Mr. Ward crossed the mountains, passing from one river- 
basin into another, in order to examine as many of the tributaries 
of the Rio Doce and the Rio Jequitinhonha as possible. To him 
I owe the materials necessary for a general comparison of the river 
faunse in these different basins. His journey was a laborious and a 
lonely one. Separating from his companions at Barbacena he kept 
on by Ouro-Preto and Santa Barbara into the basin of the Rio 
Doce, which he followed nearly to the point where the Rio Antonio 
empties into it. This part of the journey gave him an opportunity 
of making a collection not only in the head-waters of the Rio 
Doce, but in one of its principal tributaries also. Thence crossing 
the Serra das Esmeraldas Mr. Ward entered the water-basin of the 
Rio Jequitinhonha, commonly called Rio Belmonte on the maps, 



536 



APPENDIX. 



and after passing Diamantina explored several arms of this great 
stream. The collections he made in this region are of special in- 
terest with reference to those gathered by Messrs. Hartt and Cope- 
land on the lower course of the same rivers, and in many other 
streams along the Atlantic coast between Bahia and Rio de Ja- 
neiro. Having accomplished this part of his journey, Mr. Ward 
crossed the San Francisco at Januaria, making a number of excur- 
sions in that vicinity; then passing in a northwesterly direction 
over the ridges which separate the valley of the San Francisco 
from that of the Tocantins, he followed the whole course of this 
great stream to the Amazons. It was a daring and adventurous 
journey to be accomplished with no other companionship than that 
of the camarado who served him as guide, or the Indian boatmen 
who rowed his canoe, and it was a day of rejoicing for our whole 
party when we heard, in the month of January, 1866, of his safe 
arrival in Pard, whence he embarked a few weeks later for the 
United States. 

From Lagoa Sancta, where they parted from Mr. Sceva, Messrs. 
St. John and Allen kept on to Januaria together, but at this point 
Mr. Allen, whose health had been failing from the time he left Rio 
de Janeiro, found himself unable to prosecute the journey farther, 
and he resolved to strike across the country to Bahia, taking in 
charge the collections they had brought together thus far. After a 
short rest at Januaria, he made his way to Chique-Chique on the 
Rio San Francisco ; and his separate journal begins from the time 
he left this point, on his journey to Bahia. It gives a very full 
account of the physical features of the region through which he 
passed, of the geographical character of the soil, and of the distri- 
bution of plants and animals, including many original observations 
concerning the habits of birds, with a detailed itinerary of the route 
through Jacobina, Espelto, and Caxoeira. Prostrated by illness as 
he was, he has nevertheless furnished a report the character of 
which shows how completely his interest in the work overcame the 
lassitude of disease. 



APPENDIX. 



537 



From Januaria Mr. St. John followed the San Francisco to the 
Villa do Barra, where he made a short stay, and then resumed 
his journey by land through the valley of the Rio Grande to the 
Villa da Santa Rita, thence to Mocambo and across the table-land 
separating the basin of the Rio San Francisco from that of the Rio 
Paranahyba. At Paranagua he remained several days, and made 
a considerable collection from this vicinity. Thence he followed 
the valley of the Rio Gurugueia to Manga, one hundred and twenty 
leagues from Paranagua. At Manga he embarked on one of the 
singular river-boats made of the leafstalks of the Buriti palm, and 
descended the Paranahyba to the villa of San Goncallo. Here he 
stayed for some time to collect, and forwarded from this vicinity a 
considerable number of specimens, chiefly reptiles, birds, and insects. 
His next station was at Therezina, the capital of the province of 
Piauhy, where he made one of the most interesting collections of 
the whole journey from the waters of the Rio Poty. The Poty is a 
tributary of the Paranahyba, into which it empties below Therezina. 
In examining this collection, I was particularly struck with the gen- 
eral similarity of the fishes contained in it to those of the Amazons. 
They exhibit throughout the same kind of combination of genera 
and families, although the species are entirely distinct. Thus, from 
a zoological point of view, the basin of the Parahyba, though com- 
pletely separated from it by the ocean, would seem to belong to the 
Amazonian basin, as it unquestionably does from a geological point 
of view. The character of the drift deposits along the Rio Guru- 
gueia and the Rio Paranahyba shows this area to have been con- 
tinuous with the basin in which the Amazonian drift was deposited ; 
and the similarity of their zoological features is but another evi- 
dence, from an entirely different source, of the extensive denudations 
which have isolated these regions from one another by removing 
the tracts which formerly made them a unit. 

From Therezina Mr. St. John proceeded to Caxias, and finally 
arrived in Maranham, by the way of the Rio Itapicuru, on the 8th 
January, 1866 ; having completed a journey of more than seven 
23* 



538 



APPENDIX. 



hundred leagues in seven months, over a route the greater part of 
which had never been examined from a zoological or geological point 
of view. His collections, though necessarily limited by the difficulty 
of transport and the insufficient provision of alcohol, were very val- 
uable, and arrived at their destination in good condition. Of his 
geological observations I have said little ; but it is from him I have 
obtained the data which have enabled me to compare the basin of 
Piauhy with that of the Amazons. He made careful geological 
surveys wherever he was able to do so, and has recorded the re- 
sult of his observations in a manner which shows that he never 
lost sight of the general relations between the great structural fea- 
tures of the country through which he passed. At Maranham, the 
intermittent fever, under which Mr. St. John had been suffering 
during the latter part of his journey, culminated in a severe illness, 
from which he recovered under the care of Dr. Braga, who took 
him into his own house, and did not allow him to leave his roof until 
he was restored to health. From Maranham Mr. St. John joined 
me at Para, where I had an opportunity of comparing notes with 
him on the spot. 

During the first two months of his stay in Rio de Janeiro, Mr. 
Hartt was chiefly occupied with Mr. St. John in examining sections 
of the Dom Pedro Railroad, of which he prepared a very clear and 
careful geological survey, with ample illustrations. On the 19th of 
June, 1865, he left the city to explore the coast between the Rio 
Parahyba do Sul and Bahia ; being accompanied by Mr. Edward 
Copeland, one of our volunteers, who gave him very efficient assist- 
ance in collecting, during the whole time they remained together. 
At Campos, on the Rio Parahyba, they obtained a large number of 
fishes, beside other specimens. From that point they went up the 
Rio Muriahy for some distance, and then, returning to Campos, as- 
cended the Rio Parahyba to San Fidelis, where they again added 
largely to their collections. Taking mules at San Fidelis, they 
traversed the forest northward to Bom-Jesu, on the Rio Itabapuana, 
and then descended that river, stopping to collect at Porto da Li- 



APPENDIX. 



539 



meira and at the Barra. Thence they followed the coast to Victoria ; 
and it was their intention to have proceeded northward to the Rio 
Doce, but, for want of mules and money (their supplies having given 
out), they were obliged to make Nova Almeida, their farthest point. 
Thence they returned by way of Victoria to Rio de Janeiro in a 
sailing-vessel. In the course of this journey they obtained valuable 
collections both on the Rio Itapemerim and at Guarapary. Mr. 
Hartt also made a careful study of the geology of the coast, the result 
of which forms an interesting portion of his report. 

On their return to Rio, Mr. Hartt and Mr. Copeland were detained 
for some time by the failure of a steamer. They occupied them- 
selves in the mean while in various work for the expedition, making 
excursions in the vicinity, and collecting in the harbor of Rio. Dis- 
appointed in the steamer, they started on board a sailing-vessel, and 
had a slow and tedious voyage to San Matheos, collecting on their 
way wherever the stopping of the vessel enabled them to do so. 
Neither did Mr. Hartt neglect, on every such occasion, to examine 
the coast, and the phenomena connected with its general rise, of 
which he obtained unquestionable evidence. From San Matheos, 
where they made considerable collections, they took conveyance to 
the Rio Doce, and ascended this river for ninety miles to the first 
fall, Porto de Souza. Descending its course again to Linhares, they 
explored the river and lake of Juparanaa, and then returned to San 
Matheos ; making large marine collections at Barra Secca, half-way 
between the Rio Doce and San Matheos. Thence they proceeded 
to the Rio Mucury, stopping a few days at its mouth to collect, and 
then ascending the river to Santa Clara. Here Mr. Copeland re- 
mained, and secured a fine collection of fishes ; while Mr. Hartt 
crossed over the river Peruhype to the Colonia Leopoldina. On 
his return he was detained for some days by illness, but was soon 
able to resume his journey ; and he and Mr. Copeland then went on 
with Mr. Schieber* to Philadelphia, in the province of Minas 

* This gentleman, who is thoroughly familiar with the whole country, was 
untiring in his attentions to Messrs. Hartt and Copeland, and gave them, so 
far as he could, every facility for their researches. 



540 



APPENDIX. 



Geraes, collecting on the way at the Rio Urucu, and afterwards at 
Philadelphia. Along the coast, and indeed throughout his whole 
journey, Mr. Hartt continued his geological observations, which 
he carefully recorded. From Philadelphia he and his companion 
proceeded by land to Calhao, on the Rio Arassuahy; making a 
detour from Alahu to Alto dos Bois, in order to study the drift and 
the geological structure of the elevated Chapadas. At Calhao they 
also made good collections of fishes. Returning to Calhao from a 
visit to Minas Novas and a study of its gold-mines, Mr. Hartt de- 
scended the Rio Jequitinhonha three hundred and sixty miles to 
the sea. Mr. Copeland had preceded him in order to make an 
excursion to Caravellas ; and they met again at Cannavieiras. 

At Cannavieiras they made good collections, and then ascended 
the Rio Pardo to its first fall, fishing and geologizing along their 
route. They visited also Belmonte, and then went southward to 
Porto Seguro, where they stayed for several days, collecting corals 
and marine invertebrates. Here, as at several other points along 
the coast, Mr. Hartt made a careful examination of the stone-reefs. 
His researches on these " recifes," which constitute so remarkable 
a feature along the Atlantic coast of Brazil, are exceedingly inter- 
esting ; and I do not know that any geologist has made a more 
careful and connected examination of them. He believes them to 
be formed by the solidification of beach ridges ; the lower part of 
which being cemented by the lime dissolved from the shells con- 
tained in them remains intact, while the upper portion was carried 
off by storms ; thus leaving a solid wall running along the coast, 
broken through here and there, and divided from the land by a 
narrow channel. He studied the coast reefs both at Santa Cruz 
and at Porto Seguro, and ascertained their southward extension to 
the Abrolhos. From Porto Seguro Messrs. Hartt and Copeland 
went northward to Bahia, touching at several points along the coast, 
and thence returned to Rio de Janeiro, whence we sailed together 
for the United States in the month of July, 1866. 



Cambridge : Stereotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co. 



